Commentary: The 1970s Stagflation Playbook Is Dangerously Out of Date

Global markets in early 2026 are gripped by a resurrected fear: stagflation.

As rate-cut expectations evaporate — and in some quarters, pivot toward hikes — global liquidity is tightening at the top. Nearly all major asset classes outside of energy are buckling.

Amid this confusion, traders are blowing the dust off their 1970s playbooks. The two great stagflationary shocks of that decade certainly offer valuable clues. Yet, too many investors are indiscriminately applying 50-year-old lessons to today’s wildly different macroeconomic architecture. The recent lackluster performance of gold is a glaring example.