Some of America’s most reliable economic fortune tellers delivered some unsettling news. Two established bellwethers touching every American household, UPSUPS

and Procter & GamblePG

, reported earnings on Tuesday, revealing concerning trends. When companies this foundational struggle, it adds yet another recessionary indicator to the growing pile.

• Package powerhouseUPS
  reported domestic volume and EPS plummeted 7.3% and 8.48% from last year, respectively — withholding its guidance amid “macroeconomic uncertainty.”
• Meanwhile, consumer staplePG
  “really see[s] that the consumer is under … stress” — citing spending slowdowns across its categories as shoppers slash store visits and delay purchases.

The bottom line: This isn’t just another tale of two economies, as high-income shoppers hunt for deals alongside their inflation-battered counterparts. The pullback even reached beyond borders, as P&G’s CFO noted that the slowdown spans both the US and Western Europe. With UPS offering driver buyouts for the first time in 117 years and P&G facing “more challenges now than any time [its CEO] can remember,” the economic outlook just got much harder to ignore.