Austrian Economics

Seeing a Slowdown, but No Recession!

A survey by the National Association for Business Economists this week showed that 74% of economists now predict a recession before 2021.

What could cause a recession? It could be a combination of factors — the U.S.-China trade war, tight money or a geo-political disaster. In July, the U.S. government announced that real gross output (GO), the broadest measure of economic spending, rose only 1.6% in the first quarter, much less than real gross domestic product’s (GDP) increase of 3.1%. For my press release on first-quarter gross output (GO), go to www.grossoutput.com.

The Economic Leading Indicator Index, put out by the Conference Board, declined for the first time this year in June. The Conference Board reported, “The US Leading Economic Indicators Index fell in June, the first decline since last December, primarily driven by weaknesses in new orders for manufacturing, housing permits and unemployment insurance claims.”

A negative yield curve — where short-term rates are higher than long-term rates — also is evidence of a possible recession. The last two times we had an inverted yield curve (2000 and 2007) we had recessions.

The Conference Board added, “For the first time since late 2007, the yield spread made a small negative contribution. As the U.S. economy enters its 11th year of expansion, the longest in American history, the index suggests growth is likely to remain slow in the second half of the year.”

If the inverted yield curve continues, it would suggest a slowdown ahead and perhaps the end of the 11-year bull market.

There is growing talk in the White House for the need to stimulate the economy to prevent a recession, through tax cuts and more government spending. More importantly, monetary policy is already starting to loosen. As the following chart indicates, the broad-based money supply (M3) is now growing at 9.3% a year in the United States.

That probably means the slowdown in economic growth in the United States is temporary. A full-scale recession is unlikely at this stage.

Good investing, AEIOU,

Mark Skousen

Upcoming Appearances

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Mark Skousen

Mark Skousen, Ph. D., is a professional economist, investment expert, university professor, and author of more than 25 books. He earned his Ph. D. in monetary economics at George Washington University in 1977. He has taught economics and finance at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Grantham University, Barnard College, Mercy College, Rollins College, and is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He also has been a consultant to IBM, Hutchinson Technology, and other Fortune 500 companies. Since 1980, Skousen has been editor in chief of Forecasts & Strategies, a popular award-winning investment newsletter. He also is editor of four trading services, Skousen TNT Trader, Skousen Five Star Trader, Skousen Home Run Trader, and Skousen Fast Money Alert. He is a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, a columnist to Forbes magazine (1997-2001), and past president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in New York. He has written articles for The Wall Street Journal, Liberty, Reason, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Christian Science Monitor, and The Journal of Economic Perspectives. He has appeared on ABC News, CNBC Power Lunch, CNN, Fox News, and C-SPAN Book TV. In 2008-09, he was a regular contributor to Larry Kudlow & Co. on CNBC. His economic bestsellers include “Economics on Trial” (Irwin, 1991), “Puzzles and Paradoxes on Economics” (Edward Elgar, 1997), “The Making of Modern Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2001, 2009), “The Big Three in Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2007), “EconoPower” (Wiley, 2008), and “Economic Logic” (2000, 2010). In 2009, “The Making of Modern Economics” won the Choice Book Award for Outstanding Academic Title. His financial bestsellers include “The Complete Guide to Financial Privacy” (Simon & Schuster, 1983), “High Finance on a Low Budget” (Bantam, 1981), co-authored with his wife Jo Ann, “Scrooge Investing” (Little Brown, 1995; McGraw Hill, 1999), and “Investing in One Lesson” (Regnery, 2007). In honor of his work in economics, finance, and management, Grantham University renamed its business school “The Mark Skousen School of Business.” Dr. Skousen has lived in eight nations, and has traveled and lectured throughout the United States and 70 countries. He grew up in Portland, Ore. He and his wife, Jo Ann, and five children have lived in Washington, D.C.; Nassau, the Bahamas; London, England; Orlando, Fla.; and New York. For more information about Mark’s services, go to http://www.markskousen.com/