U.S. derivatives regulators are examining a handful of unusual oil futures trades that took place minutes before a surprise announcement by Trump signaling a pause in attacks on Iran.
The internet has been buzzing with commentary on a trading account linked to Byron Trump. The account has been 10 for 10 in bets that occur, every time, immediately before Trump opens his mouth. Winnings are in the multi-millions.
CNBC reported on the suspicious activity on March 23 when S&P 500 e-mini futures and West Texas Intermediate May crude futures saw a sudden and isolated surge in volume in otherwise muted premarket trading.
About 15 minutes later, Trump said on Truth Social that the U.S. and Iran had held talks and that he was halting planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure. The announcement triggered an immediate jump in S&P 500 futures of more than 2.5% ahead of the open, and WTI crude oil futures tumbling nearly 6%.
The sudden, simultaneous spikes in volume in stock index and crude futures raised eyebrows among traders when it happened. The news leak was obvious.
What is happening, in the wide open, is securities fraud by Trump and his insiders. The moral guide rails haven’t existed with Trump ever. Now his hubris is so very large he doesn’t care whom he steals from, and he doesn’t care who knows it.
The gaming of the markets is all bad because it removes confidence that the game is fair. If insiders always have an unfair advantage the other players will realize that they are being set up to lose. NOBODY will stand for that. The way capital votes is with its feet. Capital, and a great deal of it, will go elsewhere, where the playing field is level.
Leave a Reply