Recession fears appear to be premature despite a flat yield curve (3 months vs. 10 Year Treasuries.) All previous U.S. recessions since World War II were preceded by the Federal Reserve raising interest rates too far and too fast from much higher levels. The Great Recession of 2007-2009 was also caused by subprime mortgages and too much debt in the housing market. With the Federal Reserve not planning to raise short term interest rates in the near future, interest rates near historically low levels, and inflation stable at 2% which is the target of the Federal Reserve, there appears to be little likelihood of a recession later this year or in 2020.
 

Stocks, Bond Yields Fall Amid Anxiety Over World Economy

Yield on 10-year Treasury note slides to lowest since January 2018

By Akane Otani and Georgi Kantchev
Updated March 22, 2019 10:01 p.m. ET

 

Global stocks and bond yields slid Friday as investors’ anxiety mounted about the health of the world economy.

Major stock indexes have rallied this year despite a slowdown in global growth, in part because central banks have signaled that they will back off plans to normalize monetary policy for the foreseeable future.

Continue reading on the Wall Street Journal.