This week, we witnessed “the greatest economic master strategy from an American President in history”, according to Stephen Miller, adviser to Donald Trump. 

The US president’s U-turn from most of his aggressive trade tariffs was “brilliantly executed”, billionaire backer Bill Ackman opined. “Textbook, Art of the Deal.”

Someone should tell investors about this astounding act of genius, as they do not appear to have got the memo. US stocks screamed higher in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s big blink, chalking up one of the biggest jumps on record. But the next day, the picture was not a pretty one for Team Maga: a sweep higher in markets from Asia to Europe, but a big drop in the US. The US dollar, which failed to attract its usual safety-seeking buyers during Trump’s mini crisis, fell further once the president took a step back on tariffs, and further still when US stocks resumed their slide.