Over the past few years, the U.S. economy has seemingly pulled off an incredible feat. Even with stubborn inflation and rising interest rates weighing on consumers and businesses nationwide, and wars in the Middle East and Europe subduing global growth, there have been few signs of an American recession.
The bust phase of the modern business cycle that so many Wall Street forecasters said was an inevitability not long ago appears to have gone missing. And it’s not only the economy flying in the face of this conventional business cycle wisdom—U.S. stocks have soared in recent years as well, despite considerable headwinds.
Wall Street’s bulls argue this is all an uncommon, but not unheard-of economic “soft landing,” driven by consumers and businesses that are now structurally more resilient to higher borrowing costs. Some even claim we’re living through a period of American economic and market exceptionalism, or a…
