Outsider Trading
Trump's Tweets Aren't Stock Tips
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the president isn't moving share prices in predictable ways.
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President Trump has embraced Twitter as his bully pulpit, a 140-character instantaneous broadcast of his pronouncements and denouncements, including about companies that he thinks deserve his praise or ire.
Some big banks and hedge funds are apparently using computer programs to trade instantly on his tweets, but their actions are shrouded in secrecy. Few people know who these traders are, what programs they use or how successful they are at exploiting Trump’s rants. As Josh Brown, chief executive of Ritholtz Wealth Management, told the Los Angeles Times, “The secrecy isn’t surprising because firms employing the programs don’t want to reveal their advantage.”