Despite each of the major U. For example, in recent months we witnessed a couple of short-term inversions of the yield curve — o;tions chart depicting yields on U. Treasury bonds recessiond varying maturities. Typically, we’d like to see an up-sloping curve, with longer-maturity bonds having higher yields than short-term notes. But throughoutthis curve flattened out, then briefly reversed, with short-term Treasury notes sporting higher yields than long-term bonds. A yield-curve inversion has preceded every recession since World War II, although not every inversion of the yield curve since then has been followed by a recession. Manufacturing data has also been notoriously weak of late. The ISM Purchasing Managers Index for October marked the third consecutive month of contraction in the manufacturing sector, while the September reading was the weakest we’ve seen in more than a decade. Thanks to technology, manufacturing doesn’t hold the same importance to the U. S...