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When the Bond Market Panics Like This…

Trump’s global tariff war has wiped out more than $5 trillion in equity-market value. But, as always, the most reliable clue about what’s heading our way is the bond market. Buckle up…

donald trump tariffs
Given our bi-polar president’s behavior, the equity markets are recovering some of the ground they lost in the previous four days. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
William D. Cohan
April 9, 2025

The meltdown in the equity markets continues to get the lion’s share of headlines: four days straight of around 3 percent declines, the worst since October 1987, followed by a buying frenzy on Wednesday after Donald Trump said he was enacting a 90-day pause on his “reciprocal” tariffs, except for China. But forget the equity markets for the moment. The more telling signal of the coming financial calamity can be found in the bond market.