• Join Puck

    Directly Supporting Authors

    A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

    Personalized Subscriptions

    Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

    Stay in the Know

    Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.

  • What is puck? Newsletters Authors Podcasts Events Gift Puck Careers

In Bessent We Trust?

Mike Mayo, the august Wells Fargo analyst, offers the bull case for Trump’s hard reset of the economy, strangling bureaucracy, gutting Dodd-Frank, and why he thinks the banking sector is ready to rip. Has Mike sipped the Kool-Aid, or should everyone just chill out?

mike mayo
Mike Mayo, the singular equity research analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, has long been one of the most insightful and thoughtful prognosticators on Wall Street’s prospects. Photo: Jose A. Alvarado Jr./Bloomberg via Getty Images
William D. Cohan
March 19, 2025

These are wild times on Wall Street, which had been anticipating unbridled growth and empire-building on the eve of Trump II. Now faced with escalating trade wars and the slashing of government staff and services, the investor class is in for a rocky ride. The stock market has given up trillions of dollars in post-election gains, M&A activity is all but frozen, and analysts are forecasting lower G.D.P. growth and higher inflation. Some recession signals are flashing red. For many, the “detox” that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been spinning feels more like an emetic.