Deutsche Bank: The US May Now Be In A Recession

Zerohedge reports:

Three months ago, we presented an analysis which showed something disturbing: according to Deutsche, the "current business cycle is already the fourth longest in the post- WWII period, and the corporate debt-to-GDP ratio suggests that imbalances are building", and that worse, as a result of soaring corporate debt and rolling-over profit margins, "a recession could hit as soon as the second half."

Overnight, and three months since its last such analysis, Deutsche Bank has published an update. It shows that, as illustrated in the chart below, profits per worker have generally trended higher over time. This is a function of productivity gains and inflation. However, this has changed in recent years. "In the current business cycle, margins peaked at $18,752 per worker in Q4 2014. This compares to a ratio of $16,487 per worker as of Q2 2016. Margins have fallen because corporate profits have declined -6.3% annualized over the past six quarters, while private sector job growth over this period has been very steady at around 2.1%."

Check out the charts in this article.