JUST FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE CURRENT economic expansion officially became the longest in U.S. history, signs of its impending demise seem to be everywhere. October started off with a report that manufacturing activity contracted for the second month in a row, hitting its lowest level since the Great Recession—a result that sent stocks tumbling. That followed a late September Conference Board survey showing confidence among consumers, who fuel two-thirds of the U.S. economy, had posted its biggest drop in nine months. Meanwhile, confidence among the nation's top CEOs saw its biggest quarter-over-quarter drop in seven years, the Business Roundtable said. If that wasn't enough, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development cut its forecasts for most of the world's major economies, citing trade tensions and a possible no-deal Brexit among the greatest threats to growth.
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