Dear reader,
The drumbeat of recession is getting louder. Stocks are falling. Bond yields are surging. Jitters over inflation and rate rises boiled over and pushed the S&P 500 into bear market territory this week. Almost 70 per cent of leading academic economists polled by the Financial Times believe the US economy will go into reverse next year.
Yet pessimism about the economy has not kept Americans from reaching for their credit and debit cards. For all the recession talk, the US labour market remains on a solid footing. An unemployment rate of 3.6 per cent hovers near historic lows. Consumers as a whole are showing surprising resilience.