Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Aug 19
Malinen Warns 600,000 US Bankruptcies Signal Imminent Recession as Bond Curve Nears Uninversion
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Aug 19

Malinen Warns 600,000 US Bankruptcies Signal Imminent Recession as Bond Curve Nears Uninversion

1 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Aug 19

Summary

  • More than 600,000 new US bankruptcy filings were recorded in the 12 months through June, up 12% from a year earlier, leading Tuomas Malinen to argue the economy could slip into recession abruptly.
  • Malinen said a private-sector yield curve—measured by long-dated Baa corporate bonds against the bank prime rate—is close to turning positive, a pattern he says preceded the COVID-19, 2008 and early-2000s recessions.
  • July's ISM manufacturing New Orders Index rose to 56.7 for a seventh straight month of expansion, but he said that strength may be concentrated in data centers and vulnerable if the AI trade breaks.
  • That view remains outside the Wall Street mainstream: most forecasters still expect the AI boom to endure, and the Atlanta Fed estimates US GDP will grow 4% in the third quarter.

Insights

Why are corporate bankruptcies surging to post-pandemic highs while headline GDP growth still projects a robust four percent expansion?
If the AI infrastructure boom suddenly stalls, what safety nets exist to prevent a rapid U.S. economic collapse?
With real disposable income stalling and borrowing costs rising, how long can everyday consumers sustain the illusion of economic growth?