The stories of our last three recessions can help us understand what the next downturn may (or may not) look like.

Fears of a looming recession have taken hold of hearts and minds in recent days. Consumer confidence has plummeted, the stock market...

Households are rearranging their budgets, which matters for the economy.

Misunderstandings about the relationship between stocks and the economy need to be cleared up.

• The stock market is different from the economy, and the distinction matters.

• Stocks and the economy are related, but the nature of that relationship...

The Federal Reserve is trying to rein the economy in without ruining it.

• The Fed hopes to engineer a “soft-landing” for the economy.

• There are two ways to miss, and we’d like to avoid both.

• It’s been pulled off in the past, but what does that...