New Delhi, April 21 -- In a few short weeks, US President Donald Trump has upended economics as we have known it. In this carnage, one economic concept that has not only survived but gained strength is the integral role of prices in providing quick feedback. Trump had initiated the widest and largest tariff hike in American history, but blinked when US bond prices signalled danger.

Of course, the US bond market is no small matter. At $28 trillion in size, it is a beast of a market that has hitherto anchored the global financial system. When this market shakes, it amounts to a referendum on the world's confidence in the US. In reaction to Trump's 'Liberation Day' announcements, yields on 10-year Treasury bonds rose 50 basis points in fren...