I'm interested in "leveraged indexes" (ex., SSO) that imitate the general movement of the stock market with increased power. However, if the market plummets, I'm twice as in trouble as I'd normally be.
I know that predicting the market is a difficult if not impossible task, but are there any early "warning signs" to warn me of an upcoming recession?
Historically, how many times have corrections (10% drop in the market) turned into a true, full-blown recession (20% drop or more in the market)?
Thanks for your help!
Correction: By "recession" I meant a bear market. Sorry for the confusion of terms.
If you buy the futures instead of the ETFs you can get an even better exposure if leverage is what you're looking for.
First of all, stock market and recessions are separate.
Recessions means that the GDP has shrunk for 2 straight quarters.
Stock market crashes come for many different reasons, that if people knew they could make millions 
Basically at some point it gets out of hand(like China) and it crashes.
My opinion about the matter is twofold:
1. you don't need leverage. Leverage is for those who know what they're doing. What you need is capital protection.
2. We've had a 4-5 year bull run and it might look like it's run out of steam. The next month is key and even then it won't last forever.