There's been lots of happy talk about a so-called soft landing for the economy — a glidepath back down to the officially desired 2% inflation without a recession. A return to normal without any great pain. Names like Janet Yellen, Paul Krugman, and even Larry Summers, who has been a significant critic of the Fed in the last year or two, think cooling inflation and labor market data are worth being bullish about. 

Except some experts and important sources of data are suggesting that things are getting worse again and that chances of recession are growing once more.

Carl Riccadonna, chief U.S. economist at BNP Paribas, during a recent briefing pointed out that U.S. growth has now fallen below the nominal federal funds rate, a sign that has proven "very ominous," as Politico wrote. Corporate profits started to dip earlier this year. S&P Global Market Intelligence said last month that July corporate bankruptcy filings pushed the country past the total number of bankruptcies in 2022.