Just 20 days ago, the US stock market was sitting at all-time highs. The US economy appeared to be growing at a solid pace. And a recession was nowhere in sight.

U.S. stocks have suffered their sharpest selloff in months as investors have grown nervous that Trump will slow the economy with import duties.

The signs of a recession, how they affect the public and what you can do to prepare financially in case one comes.

Trump himself remained out of public view Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 2% and the Nasdaq dropped 4% in its worst trading day since 2022.

President Trump refused to rule out the possibility that his economic policies, including aggressive tariffs, could lead to a recession. In an interview with Fox News, he acknowledged a “period of transition” but insisted that his policies would ultimately benefit the economy.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have spooked investors, with fears of an economic downturn driving a stock market sell-off that has wiped out $4 trillion from the S&P 500’s peak last month, when Wall Street was cheering much of Trump's agenda.