Are we manifesting a recession?

Reports on home prices, job openings and labor turnover, and payrolls all pointed to a strong economy in April. Still, markets are sliding, and consumer confidence has fallen to a three-month low. Respectfully, WTH?

Part of the reason we’re dreading a recession is that we’re acting like rational doomsday preppers, if such a thing exists:

From layoffs at startups to ad spending cuts, businesses are steeling themselves for a potential recession.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told investors the company is bracing for an economic “hurricane,” though it’s too soon to gauge its magnitude.
We consumers are starting to get the memo. Consumer spending is still growing each month, but our feelings about the economy’s prosperity are waning, much like our love of high-waisted jeans and baking bread.

When recession fears make business investment and consumer spending sputter, aggregate demand goes down, and the economy shrinks. And if the economy contracts for two quarters in a row, we technically have a recession.

Now, all eyes are on the Fed to nail the slowdown of quantitative easing and the timing and magnitude of interest rate hikes.