"We don’t make any actual predictions about where things are going next month or, in the markets, next year. The stock market could rise a lot, short-term. We don’t know."
Vanguard's model says the probability of a recession by late 2020 is between 30% and 40%, which is higher than normal.
That also means that the probability of no recession by late 2020 is between 60% and 70%, which is lower than normal.
Economic recessions are none of these. They are common, expected, and well within the experience of most adults.
Booms and busts have been recurring semi-regularly since the beginning of market economies.
While it would be foolish to predict with any great certainty the date or duration of the next downturn, we can say with high confidence that a downturn will occur.
It doesn't seem unreasonable to observe that recessions are more likely when the yield curve is flat and valuations are historically high than when the yield curve is steep and valuations are more moderate.
Agreed, unlike every other random event that exists in the universe, recessions are the one thing whose likelyhood cannot possibly be expressed.