This is the regime read as it stood on August 12, 2026, from that day’s model output. See today’s regime →
Soft Landing
The rare good outcome. Inflation drifts down without the job market breaking.
Closest alternative: Cooling at 27.9% · Soft Landing +1.6 pts on the day
All five regimes
- CoolingRunner-up27.9%
- Soft LandingLeading28.5%
- Overheating24.5%
- Inflation Shock17.2%
- Contraction1.9%
This snapshot is more than a day old. The next engine run refreshes it. As of August 12, 2026.
The US macro picture points to Soft Landing (28% probability, low confidence), with Cooling as the main alternative at 28%. Growth is stable, inflation is easing, and geopolitical shock is moderate. The main tension comes from core cpi at 2.5% yoy, sharply lower.
— What changed
What moved that day
Regime call changed from Overheating to Soft Landing
Quantitative moves in the top 10% historically. The model is repricing significantly. Compared with August 5, 2026 (5 sessions ago).
- majorCooling up 2.0% to 27.9% (was 25.9%)
- majorSoft Landing up 3.2% to 28.5% (was 25.3%)
- majorInflation Shock down 3.9% to 17.2% (was 21.1%)
- majorInflation shifted from sticky to easing (46.9 to 39.6)
- majorEquities stance changed from Cautious, late-cycle risk to Constructive
- majorRates stance changed from Yields biased higher to Duration-friendly
- majorCredit stance changed from Carry positive, spreads uncertain to Spreads stable
- majorDollar stance changed from USD firm to USD range-bound
- majorOil stance changed from Constructive to Balanced
- major10-year Treasury yield flipped from confirming to diverging
- moderateOverheating down 1.6% to 24.5% (was 26.1%)
- moderateFinancial conditions momentum shifted from rising to stable
- moderateNew confirming driver: initial jobless claims at 199K (4-week avg), elevated
- moderateNew confirming driver: the 10-year yield at 4.7%, well above trend
- moderateConfirming driver dropped: gasoline prices above trend
- moderateConfirming driver dropped: headline CPI at 3.5% YoY, above trend
— The four internals
Under the hood
Growth
Stable
Score46.1 / 100Momentum: Stable↓ -0.3 wkIs the economy expanding or slowing. Jobs, output, spending.
Inflation
Easing
Score39.6 / 100Momentum: Falling↓ -7.3 wkHow fast prices are rising, and whether the trend is up or down.
Financial Conditions
Neutral
Score51.1 / 100Momentum: Stable↓ -0.9 wkHow tight money is. Yields, credit spreads, the cost of borrowing.
Geopolitical Shock
Moderate
Score45.2 / 100Momentum: Falling↓ -0.6 wkStress from outside the model. Oil, war risk, market volatility.
— Leading / lagging
Firming or breaking down
Leading signals
Fast-moving market and survey data. Where the economy may be heading.
Lagging signals
Confirmed hard data. Where the economy demonstrably is.
The two layers disagree, so the regime is contested. Leading signals lean Overheating; lagging signals lean Soft Landing. Leading signals typically lead the confirmed data by about 6 weeks.
— What's next
Where it could go from here
- Cooling27.9%Primary alternative
A transition to Cooling would require core CPI to move higher, wage growth to move higher, and core PCE to move higher. Current momentum is working against this transition. 10-year yield and VIX are already near transition-compatible levels. Assumes other conditions remain constant.
- ↓ core CPI (YoY %) · moderate gap
- ↓ wage growth (YoY %) · moderate gap
- ↓ core PCE (YoY %) · moderate gap
- → 10-year yield (%) · small gap
- ↓ VIX · small gap
- Overheating24.5%Primary alternative
A transition to Overheating would require core CPI to move significantly higher, wage growth to move significantly higher, and consumer sentiment to shift higher. Key gaps are large and momentum is moving away from transition-compatible levels. consumer sentiment and VIX are already near transition-compatible levels. Assumes other conditions remain constant.
- ↓ core CPI (YoY %) · large gap
- ↓ wage growth (YoY %) · large gap
- ↑ consumer sentiment · small gap
- ↓ core PCE (YoY %) · large gap
- ↓ VIX · small gap
- Inflation Shock17.2%Credible alternative
A transition to Inflation Shock would require core CPI to move significantly higher, wage growth to move significantly higher, and core PCE to move significantly higher. Key gaps are large and momentum is moving away from transition-compatible levels. 10-year yield is already near transition-compatible levels. Assumes other conditions remain constant.
- ↓ core CPI (YoY %) · large gap
- ↓ wage growth (YoY %) · large gap
- ↓ core PCE (YoY %) · large gap
- → 10-year yield (%) · small gap
- ↓ VIX · moderate gap
— Drivers
What held the call up
Confirming
Points that support the current regime call
- core PCE at 3.3% YoY, above trend
- initial jobless claims at 199K (4-week avg), elevated
- the 10-year yield at 4.7%, well above trend
Disconfirming
Points that argue against it
- core CPI at 2.5% YoY, sharply lower
- wage growth at 3.2% YoY, sharply lower
Confirming
S&P 500
Diverging
10-year Treasury yield
— Asset implications
What this regime has meant for markets
The engine’s read, by asset class
- EquitiesConstructive
Growth is stable and inflation is contained, creating a constructive backdrop for equities.
- RatesDuration-friendly
Balanced growth and inflation keep yields range-bound with a duration-friendly bias.
- CreditSpreads stable
Stable growth and contained inflation support tight spreads.
- DollarUSD range-bound
Balanced conditions leave the dollar range-bound without a strong directional catalyst.
- GoldRange-bound
Without a strong inflation or recession signal, gold trades range-bound.
- OilBalanced
Balanced supply and demand leave oil without a strong directional catalyst.
How assets behaved historically in Soft Landing
Annualized figures across every past day the model scored this regime. History, not a forecast.
- +18.1%
Energy
Vol 23.9% · Sharpe 0.76
- +15.5%
Nasdaq 100
Vol 16.5% · Sharpe 0.94
- +14.3%
Russell 2000
Vol 17.8% · Sharpe 0.81
- +12.7%
Gold
Vol 17.6% · Sharpe 0.72
- +12.6%
S&P 500
Vol 11.8% · Sharpe 1.07
- +11.0%
Developed Markets
Vol 12.0% · Sharpe 0.92
- +8.5%
Emerging Markets
Vol 14.2% · Sharpe 0.60
- +4.6%
HY Corporate
Vol 4.4% · Sharpe 1.04
- +2.2%
IG Corporate
Vol 5.8% · Sharpe 0.38
- +2.0%
TIPS
Vol 4.0% · Sharpe 0.51
- +0.9%
7-10Y Treasury
Vol 5.4% · Sharpe 0.16
Sources & method
Every number on this page is produced by the Personal Stakes US macro engine and read straight from its published output. The website does not recompute the model, re-rank regimes, or invent values. Where a figure is missing, the section is left out rather than guessed.
- Reference date
- August 12, 2026
- Data as of
- 2026-08-12 00:00 UTC
- Run trigger
- major macro release
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