The majority of economists polled by Reuters predict that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates again, and they expect the central bank to wait until at least the end of March before cutting them, as the probability of a recession within a year falls to its lowest level since September 2022.
A stock market rally is likely to occur in the near future, as recent data indicates that a bounce is expected after a period of selling pressure, with several sectors and markets reaching oversold levels and trading below their normal risk ranges. Additionally, analysis suggests that sectors such as Utilities, Consumer Staples, Real Estate, Financials, and Bonds, which have been underperforming, could provide upside potential in 2024 if there is a decline in interest rates driven by the Federal Reserve.
Despite the optimism from some economists and Wall Street experts, economist Oren Klachkin believes that elevated interest rates, restrictive Federal Reserve policy, and tight lending standards will lead to a mild recession in late 2023 due to decreased consumer spending and slow hiring, although he acknowledges that the definition of a recession may not be met due to some industries thriving while others struggle.
This article does not mention any specific stocks. The author's advice is to rotate out of historically overvalued financial assets and into historically undervalued critical resources. The author's core argument is that there is a high probability of a recession in the next twelve months, and they believe that the Fed's policies will contribute to this recession. The author also highlights potential risks in the junk bond market, the private equity industry, and the banking sector.
Fidelity International's Salman Ahmed maintains his prediction of a recession next year, citing the full impact of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy tightening and a wave of corporate debt refinancing as leading factors.
The unemployment rate model predicts that if the unemployment rate reaches 4% or higher in September 2023, a recession will be signaled with a 73% probability for October.
Top economist David Rosenberg predicts that the US will experience a recession within the next six months due to the aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and the erosion of credit quality in credit card debt.
Goldman Sachs has lowered its probability of a U.S recession in the next 12 months to 15% due to positive inflation and labor market data, while also predicting a reacceleration in real disposable income and expecting the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged.
Despite recent optimism around the U.S. economy, Deutsche Bank analysts believe that a recession is more likely than a "soft landing" as the Federal Reserve tightens monetary conditions to curb inflation.
Former Goldman Sachs partner Abby Joseph Cohen believes that while a recession is not the most likely scenario, the probability of an economic downturn has been increasing in recent months due to weakening tailwinds and potential political issues.
The US economy is facing a looming recession, with weakness in certain sectors, but investors should not expect a significant number of interest-rate cuts next year, according to Liz Ann Sonders, the chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. She points out that leading indicators have severely deteriorated, indicating trouble ahead, and predicts a full-blown recession as the most likely outcome. Despite this, the stock market has been defying rate increases and performing well.
The odds of the U.S. entering a recession by mid-2024 have decreased, but certain regions, such as the West and South, are still more vulnerable due to rapid economic growth, high home prices, and inflation, according to Moody's Analytics. However, a severe downturn is unlikely, and the Midwest and Northeast are less susceptible to a pullback. Overall, the chance of a recession has declined nationwide, but there is still a risk for some metro areas, such as Austin, Boise, Ogden, and Tampa.
The risk of a global recession in the next 12 to 18 months is high, with financial markets underestimating the chances of a recession in the United States, according to PIMCO executives.
Despite economists giving the all-clear on a recession, there are still several red flags suggesting a downturn may be imminent, including an uncertain economic outlook, declining consumer confidence, maxed out credit cards, tightening credit conditions, maturing corporate debt, a manufacturing slump, global economic challenges, an inverted yield curve, and sticky inflation.
The US bond market has consistently indicated a potential recession for over 212 consecutive trading days, despite the resilient economy, suggesting a disconnect between market signals and economic reality.
The bond market's 10-year and 3-month yield curve has been inverted for a record-breaking 212 straight trading days, indicating the possibility of an upcoming economic recession despite economists' lowered expectations; however, the inversion's uniqueness, driven by the Federal Reserve's focus on combating inflation during a period of strong economic growth, leaves open the question of whether this inversion will fail to predict a recession, particularly if the Fed is able to declare victory on inflation and cut interest rates to above the neutral rate of around 2.5%.
If the unemployment rate rises to 4.0% or higher in September, there is a 73% probability of a recession occurring in October, according to a mathematical model that accurately predicted the 2020 recession.
Market analyst Ed Yardeni has increased the chances of a recession by the end of next year from 15% to 25%, citing rising oil prices and widening deficits as contributing factors, although he notes that a repeat of the 1970s is unlikely due to the expected productivity boom.
The Federal Reserve has paused raising interest rates and projects that the US will not experience a recession until at least 2027, citing improvement in the economy and a "very smooth landing," though there are still potential risks such as surging oil prices, an auto worker strike, and the threat of a government shutdown.
The bond market's recession indicator, known as the inverted yield curve, is likely correct in signaling a coming recession and suggests that the Federal Reserve made a major mistake in its inflation policy, according to economist Campbell Harvey. The yield curve, which has correctly predicted every recession since 1968, typically lags behind the start of a recession, with the average wait time being 13 months. Harvey believes that a recession is imminent due to the Fed's tight monetary policy and warns against further interest rate hikes.
The forecasted U.S. recession in 2024 is expected to be shorter and less severe than previous recessions, with the economy's interest-rate sensitivity much lower due to reduced leverage and elevated savings from the postpandemic environment, leading investors to consider positioning for investment opportunities that will drive markets into 2024.
The US economy has triggered the fourth and final signal for a potential recession, and historical data suggests that recessions will become more frequent in the future due to government interventions and other factors such as inflation, tightening monetary policy, oil price spikes, and tight government budgets.
There are four risks that could potentially push the US economy into a recession sooner rather than later, including a weakening labor market, headwinds for the consumer, high borrowing rates, and the rising chances of a government shutdown, according to Raymond James.
A recession is highly likely in the US and investors should prepare for it by adopting a defensive strategy, according to the CEO of the TCW Group, Katie Koch, who believes that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes will start to have an impact and expects consumers and companies to struggle in this environment.
Deutsche Bank's economists are still predicting a US recession despite the ongoing resilience of the economy, pointing to rapidly rising interest rates, surging inflation, an inverted yield curve, and oil price shocks as the four key triggers that historically have caused recessions and are currently happening.
Fidelity Investments' global macro director believes that a recession could lead to a significant rally for Bitcoin, with the potential for prices to reach $96,210 by the end of 2025 if interest rates decline. He also suggests that Bitcoin's correlation with equities has decreased, making it a potential source of uncorrelated returns in the next market cycle.
Investors and experts differ on the timing, but many believe a recession is inevitable in the near future due to falling consumer confidence and a slowing economy, prompting discussions about the Federal Reserve's interest rate moves.
Bloomberg Economics warns that a recession is likely to hit the US soon, citing factors such as the ongoing autoworkers strike, the return of student loan repayments, and the potential government shutdown after the short-term spending bill expires in November.
Banks are preparing for a potential recession as bond yields rise to their highest levels since before the 2007-2008 financial crisis, leading to potential yearly losses for bank stocks despite their high reserves.
Falling bond prices in the US, resulting in higher Treasury yields, suggest that a recession might be approaching, according to investor Jeff Gundlach, who is closely watching the upcoming jobs report for further signs.
Falling U.S. bond prices and the rapid normalization of the Treasury yield curve are signaling that a recession may be imminent, according to DoubleLine Capital founder Jeff Gundlach, who will be closely monitoring the September jobs report for further clues.
Violent moves in the bond market have sparked fears of a recession and raised concerns about housing, banks, and the fiscal sustainability of the U.S. government, with the 10-year Treasury yield reaching 4.8% and climbing steadily in recent weeks, its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
The likelihood of the US avoiding a recession has decreased, as two factors, including a surge in interest rates and the potential for resurgent inflation, could push the economy into a downturn, says economist Mohamed El-Erian.
Bitcoin could potentially drop by more than 46% if there is a recession caused by the Federal Reserve's actions, according to crypto analyst Nicholas Merten.
Goldman Sachs economists warn that the recent surge in US Treasury yields will hamper economic growth and pose financial risks, though the bank does not predict a recession; they estimate a 0.5 percentage-point blow to US GDP over the next year.
The chances of the U.S. economy avoiding a recession are improving, with recession odds dropping to 46 percent, the lowest since the first quarter of 2022, according to economists surveyed by Bankrate. However, risks of a recession remain, with more than 2 in 5 economists suggesting that the chances are still greater than 50 percent.
The recent surge in the 10-year Treasury yield has led Federal Reserve policymakers to signal that the chances of a rate hike on November 1st have decreased.
Despite warnings from reliable leading indicators, the dominant view is that there will be a "soft landing" with a slowdown in the US economy but no recession, however, indicators such as the ISM Manufacturing New Orders Index suggest that a recession will begin within the next few months.
