The Handbook of Economic Cycles

The Handbook of Economic Cycles is a comprehensive, academically grounded, and practitioner-focused reference that explains why economic cycles form, how they evolve, and how they affect financial markets. Written by leading economists and market-cycle researchers, this handbook offers a complete framework for understanding expansions, contractions, structural shifts, inflation cycles, yield-curve transitions, credit cycles, employment cycles, and global macro dynamics.

Unlike traditional macroeconomics texts, the handbook focuses specifically on cyclical interpretation and real-world application. It covers long-term secular cycles, medium-term business cycles, and short-term inventory and credit-driven cycles. Using empirical data, charts, and case studies from multiple decades, the authors show how cycles can be measured, tracked, and used as decision-making tools for traders, investors, and policymakers.

The book also provides deep insight into cross-market relationships. Throughout the PDF, you will find charts and diagrams (e.g., page 14’s economic-phase wheel, page 28’s leading-indicator graph, page 67’s yield-curve model) illustrating economic momentum, sector rotation, credit tightening phases, recession signals, and turning-point forecasting models.

For traders and investors, the handbook offers actionable guidance for aligning portfolios with cycle stages—how to position during early expansions versus late expansions, how to prepare for recessions, how to interpret leading indicators, and how to understand macro forces driving large price movements across equities, commodities, bonds, and currencies.

This book is an indispensable reference for anyone serious about mastering cycle logic, macro interpretation, and long-horizon market timing.

✅ What You’ll Learn:

• How economic cycles form, evolve, peak, and reset
• The difference between secular cycles, business cycles, and short-term fluctuations
• How GDP, inflation, employment, money supply, and credit interact across cycle stages
• How to interpret leading, coincident, and lagging indicators
• How the yield curve forecasts recessions and regime changes
• How credit cycles amplify business cycles and market volatility
• Sector rotation principles across expansions and contractions
• How cycles influence stock, bond, commodity, and FX markets
• How to use macro data for strategic investment timing
• How demographic, cultural, and geopolitical cycles impact economic rhythms

💡 Key Benefits:

• A complete macro framework for traders and investors
• Clear explanations of complex cycle models
• Strong integration of theory, empirical evidence, and practical forecasting
• Improved ability to anticipate market transitions before they occur
• Better risk management through macro awareness
• Valuable for traders, portfolio managers, and economic researchers

👤 Who This Book Is For:

This book is ideal for:

• Intermediate and advanced traders using macro timing
• Technical analysts wanting deeper understanding of macro forces
• Investors seeking long-term context for market cycles
• Economists and analysts working with cycle forecasting models
• Portfolio managers optimizing allocation based on economic regimes
• Anyone interested in understanding the engine behind booms and recessions

📚 Table of Contents:

PART I – Cyclical Concepts: Practical and Theoretical Considerations

• The Nature of Cyclical Phenomena
• The Importance of Cycles in Economic Forecasting
• The Time Window and Trend Following
• What Causes Cycles?

PART II  – The Operation of Economic Cycles

• An Overview of Economic Cycles
• Cycles in Stocks and in the Stock Market
• Cycles in Commodity Prices
• Cycles in Foreign Currencies

PART III – Seasonal Tendencies and Patterns

• Seasonal Tendencies in Stocks and Stock Indices
• The Importance and Future of Cyclical Analysis
• Short-Term Cycles
• Detrending as a Method for Finding Cycles
• A Catalog of Economic Cycles

The Handbook of Economic Cycles: Jake Berstein's Comprehensive Guide to Repetitive Price Patterns in Stocks, Futures, and Financials