Recessions Happen Stocks Fall And Other Reasons NOT To Worry

(Bloom) Last week marked what seems like the 800th time in the last decade that an imminent recession has been identified by (choose your favorite economist or market forecaster). Only this time we apparently have to accept it as a certainty thanks to something called an inverted yield curve. As you may have heard by now this phenomena has preceded every US recession dating back to 1955 (there have been 9). This fact is understandably causing quite a bit of anxiety for investors. The inverted yield curve really deserves a write-up of its own so well set that aside and focus on what you really care about the potential for an upcoming recession and what you can do. Recession you say?! Hearing the word recession likely drums up some rough memories most recently related to the Great Recession of 2007-2009. But lets remember that the last recession was one of the worst the country has ever experienced. The worst since the Great Depression. It was the exception not the rule. And there were some very unique problems at the root of it all like a historical concoction of a massive housing bubble super sketchy lending practices and corporate greed and corruption that reached an all-time high even for Wall Street standards. We are far from any of that today thanks to many of the steps taken during and in the aftermath of the crisis.