via Iforgotmyhandle:
Background
I’m a software engineer that has been learning about Spark lately and leveraging data to figure out new information. As a pet project, I want to build a tool that can identify red flags in the economy and try to predict when the next downturn is. This is my first attempt of trying to visulize what I’m working towards just using Google Sheets.
Data sources
Inflation: data.oecd.org/price/inflation-cpi.htm#indicator-chart
Long term interest: data.oecd.org/interest/long-term-interest-rates.htm#indicator-chart
Short term interest: data.oecd.org/interest/short-term-interest-rates.htm
Interest delta: Calculated as the difference between long and short term interest. Positive values indicate long term is greater
Unemployment: data.oecd.org/unemp/unemployment-rate.htm
Share prices: data.oecd.org/price/share-prices.htm#indicator-chart
Recessions: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recessions_in_the_United_States (rounded to nearest quarter)
Note
This is a work in progress and I would love any feedback on this idea and the direction I’m headed with it as well as any discussion and thoughts you may have. So far my thoughts on seeing this data are that it appears that a few months before a recession begins, the delta between long and short term interest rates becomes negative, indicating that short term interest rates are greater than long term. If you have any ideas or insight on how i can accomplish building such a tool, I’d love to hear 🙂