Historical snapshot

This is the regime read as it stood on August 12, 2026, from that day’s model output. See today’s regime →

— US Macro RegimeAs of August 12, 2026
Leading regime

Soft Landing

28.5%probabilityConfidence: Low

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%
Freshness

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

majorBiggest move

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 / 100
    Momentum: Stable -0.3 wk

    Is the economy expanding or slowing. Jobs, output, spending.

  • Inflation

    Easing

    Score39.6 / 100
    Momentum: Falling -7.3 wk

    How fast prices are rising, and whether the trend is up or down.

  • Financial Conditions

    Neutral

    Score51.1 / 100
    Momentum: Stable -0.9 wk

    How tight money is. Yields, credit spreads, the cost of borrowing.

  • Geopolitical Shock

    Moderate

    Score45.2 / 100
    Momentum: Falling -0.6 wk

    Stress from outside the model. Oil, war risk, market volatility.

Leading / lagging

Firming or breaking down

Leading signals

Overheating28.9%

Fast-moving market and survey data. Where the economy may be heading.

Lagging signals

Soft Landing34.1%

Confirmed hard data. Where the economy demonstrably is.

Signal alignmentDiverging

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
Market confirmationDiverging

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.

  • Energy

    Vol 23.9% · Sharpe 0.76

    +18.1%
  • Nasdaq 100

    Vol 16.5% · Sharpe 0.94

    +15.5%
  • Russell 2000

    Vol 17.8% · Sharpe 0.81

    +14.3%
  • Gold

    Vol 17.6% · Sharpe 0.72

    +12.7%
  • S&P 500

    Vol 11.8% · Sharpe 1.07

    +12.6%
  • Developed Markets

    Vol 12.0% · Sharpe 0.92

    +11.0%
  • Emerging Markets

    Vol 14.2% · Sharpe 0.60

    +8.5%
  • HY Corporate

    Vol 4.4% · Sharpe 1.04

    +4.6%
  • IG Corporate

    Vol 5.8% · Sharpe 0.38

    +2.2%
  • TIPS

    Vol 4.0% · Sharpe 0.51

    +2.0%
  • 7-10Y Treasury

    Vol 5.4% · Sharpe 0.16

    +0.9%
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

— Free · Daily

Get the briefing in your inbox.

One plain-language market briefing after the close, every market day. Free forever.

Free · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime