Lena Petrova: Stagflation Warning, Prepare for a Major Economic Downturn

The current state of the U.S. economy is precarious, to say the least. Recent economic data releases have revealed a worrisome trend: the economy was already exhibiting signs of stagflation before the recent U.S. military action against Iran sent global energy markets into a tailspin. This perfect storm of slow growth and high inflation has been exacerbated by the conflict, driving up energy prices and threatening to further erode economic growth. Consumer sentiment data, as reflected in the University of Michigan survey, paints a bleak picture. Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the economic future, and this decline in confidence is…