The king of chaos: Wall Street is losing faith in Donald Trump

Fewer of the lowest income workers inevitably means higher labour costs, and more inflation, although Trump’s promise to round up and deport illegal immigrants in their millions appears to be proving easier said than done, despite the massive level of resources the administration has assigned to the effort.

Investors in the US, and consumers, are therefore reacting rationally to the prospect of more inflation and less growth than they foresaw last year in the immediate aftermath of the election.

There is a possibility that, instead of the high-growth, low-inflation, lower interest rate environment Bessent is targeting, the US ends up with a low-growth economy but one with still-high inflation and interest rates - stagflation - because of Trump’s policies.

It’s that growing fear that - rather than the bonanza that investors and the big tech and energy companies that supported Trump had envisaged - the administration might bungle its way into recession, which seems to be unsettling Wall Street.