Key Takeaways Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration's goal was to have a "smooth transition" to an economy with less federal spending.Last week, Bessent stoked fears of a recession by warning of a period of "detox" from high government spending as Trump slashed programs and workers.

The US stock market continue to falter, with investors nervous about US President Donald Trump's escalating trade wars and 10 per cent of value wiped out in just a month

Trump's "disorderly" trade war and government reform policies have raised the risk of a "largely avoidable" US economic downturn, a top S&P economist has said.