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Were investors right to be worried?

Last year, the U.S. economy seemed solid. Skittishness in the stock and bond markets appeared at odds with signs of stability on the ground. But this week’s flow of distressing news, showing ever more evidence of slowing growth, suggests that the markets had cause for concern:

• Apple reduced its revenue expectations for the first time in 16 years, citing weak iPhone sales in China.

• Delta Air Lines said its fare revenue, although growing, would fall short of the company’s earlier forecast.

• The American manufacturing sector slowed sharply last month, according to a closely watched index released yesterday.

And things could get worse, especially amid trade tensions with China, as companies line up to report fourth-quarter results in the next few weeks. Kevin Hassett, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told CNN on yesterday:

“There are a heck of a lot of U.S. companies that have a lot of sales in China that are basically going to be watching their earnings be downgraded next year until we get a deal with China.”

More on markets: Forty-six percent of American companies issuing estimates for the fourth-quarter have revised their outlook lower, the most since President Trump’s inauguration. Traders are placing bets on whether the Fed will be forced to change course by a slowing economy and swooning stock market. Investors have piled into money market funds as a shelter from market turmoil. China will keep trying to attract bond investors, and a fresh campaign to promote its currency is expected. If all this news makes you want to flee, that’s understandable. It’s also a bad idea.