Soft Landing
The rare good outcome. Inflation drifts down without the job market breaking.
Closest alternative: Cooling at 29.7% · Soft Landing +0.7 pts on the day
All five regimes
- CoolingRunner-up29.7%
- Soft LandingLeading30.6%
- Overheating20.2%
- Inflation Shock17.5%
- Contraction2.0%
The US macro picture points to Soft Landing (30.6% probability, low confidence), with Cooling as the main alternative at 29.7%. Growth is stable, inflation is easing, and geopolitical shock is moderate. The main tension comes from core cpi at 2.4% yoy, sharply lower.
— What changed
What moved since the last read
The single biggest shift the model registered, then everything else it flagged.
Cooling up 3.1% to 29.7% (was 26.6%)
Quantitative moves in the top 10% historically. The model is repricing significantly. Compared with October 1, 2026 (5 sessions ago).
- majorSoft Landing up 2.7% to 30.6% (was 27.9%)
- majorInflation Shock down 4.3% to 17.5% (was 21.8%)
- majorS&P 500 flipped from diverging to confirming
- moderateOverheating down 1.8% to 20.2% (was 22.0%)
- moderateGeopolitical shock score down 5.9 to 45.2 (was 51.1)
- moderateNew confirming driver: gasoline prices near trend
- moderateNew confirming driver: industrial production +1.4% YoY, above trend
- moderateNew confirming driver: initial jobless claims at 198K (4-week avg), elevated
- moderateConfirming driver dropped: crude oil above trend
- moderateConfirming driver dropped: gasoline prices above trend
- moderateConfirming driver dropped: initial jobless claims at 200K (4-week avg), above trend
— The four internals
What's under the hood
The regime is a blend of four forces. Here is where each one stands and which way it is moving.
Growth
Stable
Score45.6 / 100Momentum: Stable↓ -0.9 wkIs the economy expanding or slowing. Jobs, output, spending.
Inflation
Easing
Score36.5 / 100Momentum: Stable↓ -1.0 wkHow fast prices are rising, and whether the trend is up or down.
Financial Conditions
Restrictive
Score63.1 / 100Momentum: Surging↓ -1.0 wkHow tight money is. Yields, credit spreads, the cost of borrowing.
Geopolitical Shock
Moderate
Score45.2 / 100Momentum: Surging↓ -5.9 wkStress from outside the model. Oil, war risk, market volatility.
— Leading / lagging
Is the call firming up or breaking down
Fast market signals versus confirmed hard data. When they agree, the regime is on solid ground. When they split, it is contested.
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 Cooling; lagging signals lean Soft Landing. Leading signals typically lead the confirmed data by about 4 weeks.
— What's next
Where the regime could go from here
The credible next states, and the specific moves in the data that would take us there.
- Cooling29.7%Primary alternative
A transition to Cooling would require core CPI to move higher, wage growth to move higher, and copper/gold ratio to shift higher. Momentum is broadly moving in the right direction, but gaps remain. copper/gold ratio is already near transition-compatible levels. Assumes other conditions remain constant.
- → core CPI (YoY %) · moderate gap
- → wage growth (YoY %) · moderate gap
- ↑ copper/gold ratio · small gap
- → headline CPI (YoY %) · moderate gap
- → core PCE (YoY %) · moderate gap
- Overheating20.2%Primary alternative
A transition to Overheating would require core CPI to move significantly higher, 10-year yield to move lower, and wage growth to move significantly higher. consumer sentiment and copper/gold ratio are already near transition-compatible levels. Assumes other conditions remain constant.
- → core CPI (YoY %) · large gap
- ↑ 10-year yield (%) · moderate gap
- → wage growth (YoY %) · large gap
- → consumer sentiment · small gap
- ↑ copper/gold ratio · small gap
- Inflation Shock17.5%Credible alternative
A transition to Inflation Shock would require core CPI to move significantly higher, 10-year yield to shift lower, and wage growth to move significantly higher. Current momentum is working against this transition. 10-year yield and USD index are already near transition-compatible levels. Assumes other conditions remain constant.
- → core CPI (YoY %) · large gap
- ↑ 10-year yield (%) · small gap
- → wage growth (YoY %) · large gap
- ↑ USD index · small gap
- ↑ copper/gold ratio · moderate gap
— Drivers
What's holding the call up, and what's arguing against it
Confirming
Points that support the current regime call
- initial jobless claims at 198K (4-week avg), elevated
- gasoline prices near trend
- industrial production +1.4% YoY, above trend
Disconfirming
Points that argue against it
- core CPI at 2.4% YoY, sharply lower
- wage growth at 3.0% YoY, sharply lower
Confirming
S&P 500
Diverging
10-year Treasury yield, high-yield credit spreads
— Asset implications
What this regime has meant for markets
The engine's positioning read, plus how each asset actually behaved on every past day the model scored this regime.
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.
- +17.2%
Energy
Vol 23.8% · Sharpe 0.72
- +16.6%
Nasdaq 100
Vol 16.5% · Sharpe 1.00
- +12.3%
S&P 500
Vol 11.7% · Sharpe 1.05
- +12.3%
Russell 2000
Vol 17.6% · Sharpe 0.70
- +10.0%
Gold
Vol 17.8% · Sharpe 0.56
- +9.5%
Developed Markets
Vol 12.1% · Sharpe 0.78
- +7.2%
Emerging Markets
Vol 14.2% · Sharpe 0.51
- +3.7%
HY Corporate
Vol 4.4% · Sharpe 0.83
- +1.1%
IG Corporate
Vol 5.8% · Sharpe 0.19
- +1.0%
TIPS
Vol 4.0% · Sharpe 0.26
- -0.3%
7-10Y Treasury
Vol 5.4% · Sharpe -0.05
— What it means for your money
The gap between the model and your Tuesday
The levels the model watches are the same ones that set your payment, your prices, and your yield. Run them on your own numbers.
Your mortgage and borrowing
5.3%10-year Treasury yield
Mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury, not the Fed's overnight rate. This is the number that sets your monthly payment.
Your purchasing power
2.4%core CPI
This is how fast the stuff you buy is getting more expensive. Every point of it is a point off what your cash is worth a year from now.
Your savings and cash
3.8%fed funds rate
What a bank should be paying you to hold cash. If your savings account pays a lot less than this, it is quietly costing you.
Your retirement and risk
StableGrowth is stable right now, and growth is what decides whether the next few years treat a 401(k) kindly. Pressure-test the plan before the regime does.
— What to watch
The variables that would move the call
- copper/gold ratioGeopolitical ShockNow: 1.5832 → Needs: about 1.5834 · momentum toward
- 10-year yield (%)Financial ConditionsNow: 5.3% → Needs: about 5.1% · momentum away
- consumer sentimentGrowthNow: 51.7 → Needs: about 53.5 · momentum neutral
- USD indexFinancial ConditionsNow: z=1.3 → Needs: z=0.9 · momentum away
- core CPI (YoY %)InflationNow: 2.4% YoY → Needs: about 3.1% · momentum neutral
- wage growth (YoY %)InflationNow: 3.0% YoY → Needs: about 3.7% · momentum neutral
- headline CPI (YoY %)InflationNow: 3.4% YoY → Needs: about 4.1% · momentum neutral
- core PCE (YoY %)InflationNow: 3.0% YoY → Needs: about 3.7% · momentum neutral
Watch the prints that move these. Economic calendar →
— What would change the call
The price of being wrong
An honest call names what would flip it. Here is the evidence already pulling the other way.
initial jobless claims at 198K (4-week avg) supports Soft Landing, but core cpi at 2.4% yoy keeps Cooling in play.
Evidence against the call
- core CPI at 2.4% YoY, sharply lower
- wage growth at 3.0% YoY, sharply lower
The call flips toward Cooling if…
A transition to Cooling would require core CPI to move higher, wage growth to move higher, and copper/gold ratio to shift higher. Momentum is broadly moving in the right direction, but gaps remain. copper/gold ratio is already near transition-compatible levels. Assumes other conditions remain constant.
— History
How we got to Soft Landing
The five-way probability split over time. Hover for any day's exact numbers.
2026-07-10 → 2026-10-08
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
- October 8, 2026
- Data as of
- 2026-10-08 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.
Not investment advice. The regime is a model estimate of the macro backdrop, updated as of October 8, 2026. It describes the environment, not what you should buy.
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