The predicted US slowdown is remarkable in that it is largely a self-inflicted wound driven by the administration’s own policies, rather than external shocks.
Donald Trump told a room full of executives last week that he senses a “renewed spirit” coursing through the US corporate world, as businesses unleash hundreds of billions of dollars of investment. “The tariffs,” the president added in a meeting of the Business Roundtable, “are having a tremendously positive impact.”
As he spoke, stock markets were delivering a very different verdict. The S&P 500 index closed down 0.8 per cent that day and continued falling in the following days before rebounding. The index has lost 4 per cent since the start of 2025.
