This is the regime read as it stood on September 1, 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 26.9% · Soft Landing -0.1 pts on the day
All five regimes
- CoolingRunner-up26.9%
- Soft LandingLeading29.1%
- Overheating24.6%
- Inflation Shock17.3%
- Contraction2.1%
This snapshot is more than a day old. The next engine run refreshes it. As of September 1, 2026.
The economy is in a Soft Landing regime at 29.1% probability with low confidence, where growth is slowing and inflation is easing without triggering a sharper downturn. Cooling is the main alternative at 26.9%, reflecting the possibility that cooling wages and consumer prices pull the economy beyond a gentle deceleration. Financial conditions are neutral and geopolitical shock is moderate, while market confirmation is diverging — meaning asset prices are not yet fully aligned with the top regime call.
— What changed
What moved that day
S&P 500 flipped from confirming to diverging
Quantitative moves below the historical median. The model's reading is stable, which may itself be the signal. Compared with August 25, 2026 (5 sessions ago).
- moderateCooling down 0.7% to 26.9% (was 27.6%)
- moderateInflation Shock up 0.5% to 17.3% (was 16.8%)
- moderateFinancial conditions score up 2.7 to 51.0 (was 48.3)
- moderateFinancial conditions momentum shifted from declining to stable
- moderateGeopolitical shock momentum shifted from declining to rising
- moderateNew confirming driver: the 2-year yield at 4.3%, above trend
- moderateConfirming driver dropped: initial jobless claims at 204K (4-week avg), above trend
— The four internals
Under the hood
Growth
Slowing
Score45.0 / 100Momentum: Stable↑ +1.2 wkIs the economy expanding or slowing. Jobs, output, spending.
Inflation
Easing
Score40.5 / 100Momentum: Falling↑ +1.0 wkHow fast prices are rising, and whether the trend is up or down.
Financial Conditions
Neutral
Score51.0 / 100Momentum: Stable↑ +2.7 wkHow tight money is. Yields, credit spreads, the cost of borrowing.
Geopolitical Shock
Moderate
Score49.2 / 100Momentum: Rising↑ +0.5 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
- Cooling26.9%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 HY spread 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
- → HY spread (%) · small gap
- Overheating24.6%Primary alternative
A transition to Overheating 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. consumer sentiment and nonfarm payrolls are 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
- → consumer sentiment · small gap
- → nonfarm payrolls (3mo avg chg, K) · small gap
- Inflation Shock17.3%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
- the 10-year yield at 4.7%, well above trend
- the 2-year yield at 4.3%, above trend
Disconfirming
Points that argue against it
- core CPI at 2.5% YoY, sharply lower
- wage growth at 3.1% YoY, sharply lower
Confirming
high-yield credit spreads
Diverging
S&P 500, 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
- September 1, 2026
- Data as of
- 2026-09-01 00:00 UTC
- Run trigger
- major macro release
- Narrative
- Prose written by a language model into a fixed template; all numbers are injected from the model output, never written by the model.
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