Sentiment Shift Regarding the US Economy's "Soft Landing" Possibility

Sentiment about a "soft landing" for the U.S. economy has turned from positive ("yes, soft landing is happening") to negative ("we're going into a recession") over the past few days.

In the chart below the blue columns are the daily count of mentions of "soft landing" in the global business media. The blue line represents the daily average sentiment for the sentences where "soft landing" appears.

The soft landing sentiment flipped negative on Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024 after the ISM showed a continuing mild manufacturing contraction through August. When the narrative shifted, the equity markets started to sell-off.