Amid high inflation, consecutive rate hikes, and rising recession odds, market volatility is rife, as is evident from the CBOE Volatility Index's 54% year-to-date gains. Moreover, consumer confidence has sunk below the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) levels.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index dropped 6.9% in November. Westpac's chief economist Bill Evans, said, "This point of 78.0 is now below the low point of the GFC (79.0) and only slightly higher than when the COVID pandemic first hit in April 2020 (75.6)." Furthermore, according to Wilmington Trust's Luke Tilley, the United States now faces a 55% recession probability.
