If we do get a bear market, or just come close, the current slide could well be a head fake, and not signal a near-term recession. Stock stumbled into a bear market, with the S&P 500 losing 21.6% from its apex. The previous head fake bear market started in October 1987, when stocks lost 33.2% in one day. Federal debt, corporate debt, consumer debt, public pension debt, student debt—you name it, trillions of dollars are owed that no one is sure can be repaid. When the day of reckoning comes, a bear market will develop and the ensuing recession will be a whopper.

Source: Forbes December 26, 2018 23:26 UTC