Written by Danijella Dragas, CEO
Miss. Dragas was employed by Bear Stearns Investment Banking firm for over 18 years. She worked in their offices of London, San Paulo, Beijing, New York, and Irvine. Her specialty was asset management, capital markets/investment banking during her final four years at Bear Stearns, Miss. Dragas was one of the original team members that introduced Bear Stearns mortgages to the banking industry in the residential wholesale market.
The 2025 New York stock had continued its growth in the early few weeks yet, we watch the market spluttering, companies holding back on big decisions, consumers pull back on spending and job cuts grow, many, many topics of conversation at the boardroom and the dinner table are asking the same question: Is a recession on the horizon?
Even President Donald Trump, who showed great promise in the few weeks in office, however, these policies are responsible for much of the economic uncertainty and financial markets. Wall Street historically never reacts well to uncertainty. What can be seen has chaos this year; getting a straight answer that does not change has been super difficult to follow along and why. In an interview that aired Sunday morning on Fox News, Trump gave a cagey reply when asked if he expected a recession this year. “I hate to predict things like that,” he said. “There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big,” Trump said about implementing his economic agenda like tariffs, adding, “It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”
The stock market, which was coming off of its worst week in six months based on uncertainty around tariffs, didn’t respond well to these comments. On Monday, all three major indexes fell: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.1%, the S&P 500 declined 2.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 4%. Tesla, which saw its share price drop 15.4% on Monday alone, had one of the biggest declines, erasing the 91% stock gain it had seen since Trump’s election. Monday was the EV maker’s seventh worst day since Tesla went public, and much of investors’ discontent comes from CEO Elon Musk’s seemingly random and uncontrolled slashing of government jobs, contracts, departments and real estate through his work with Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
How does this stance affect the USA consumer and the USA CEO steer their ship with the current rocky waves coming in droves from Washington DC? Are we able or willing to “handle the short-term pain” for a potential long-term gain? And frankly, what is that gain? Have we looked at what this means and given the blueprint of the plan that makes all this worthwhile?
With the world in another round of its own turmoil outside the USA, 2025 has been anything but predictable, steady and definitely not boring. The one main constant through this is tenacity, steadfast in your own trajectory, gathering a strong team around you and from experience keeping a level, low-leveraged head about it. The opportunities are always there in down or up markets; keep your eyes open and a sharp mind and the speed to act as things unfold.
Read more from Danijella Dragas
Danijella Dragas, CEO Born and raised in England. She earned a BS in Economics/International Trade and Banking from the prestigious University of London. Miss. Dragas was employed by Bear Stearns Investment Banking firm for over 18 years. She worked in their offices of London, San Paulo, Beijing, New York, and Irvine. Her specialty was asset management, capital markets/investment banking during her final four years at Bear Stearns, Miss. Dragas was one of the original team members that introduced Bear Stearns mortgages to the banking industry in the residential wholesale market. She has continued her career in residential, commercial lending for 36 years. Her focus has been on construction finance, asset repositioning, fintech, and the blockchain market. In addition, numerous prestigious commercial projects on an international level. Miss. Dragas has also worked on multi-sector business finance, corporate sponsorships, hospitality, clean energy, trade programs, and pre IPO.
