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I missed the start of the news last night, so apologies if this is old news to everyone, but Paul Krugman explains this insider-trading op well:
Bloomberg reported:
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a closed-door investor summit Tuesday that the tariff standoff with China cannot be sustained by both sides and that the world’s two largest economies will have to find ways to de-escalate.
That de-escalation will come in the very near future, [ wink, wink ] Bessent said during an event hosted by J.P. Morgan Chase in Washington, which wasn’t open to the public or media.
How “
very near”, you ask?
Voila:
Trump Floats ‘Substantial’ China Tariffs Cuts in Trade Deal (date: April 23, 2025 - today - at 4:43 AM CDT - about an hour ago)
President Donald Trump said he plans to be “very nice” to China in any trade talks and that tariffs will drop if the two countries can reach a deal, a sign he may be backing down from his tough stance on Beijing amid market volatility.
So, it looks very much like Trump is backing down. There’s a tip, one day too late for normal folks.
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So, Krugman points out:
First — and why aren’t more people saying this? — what the hell was the Treasury secretary doing giving a closed-door briefing on a significant policy change that hadn’t yet been officially announced?
Well, duh:
Isn’t that a setup for large-scale insider trading? Indeed, attendees at that conference surely made market bets before Bessent’s remarks became public.
And since when are major policy announcements by government officials made off the record to closed private-sector meetings? One even wonders whether Bessent was announcing policy or making it: Did Trump back him up only after the fact?
The content of his remarks aside, what was Bessent even doing at this event? Senior government officials aren’t supposed to be helping investment banks entertain their clients.
A very good question.
Was Bessent paid for his appearance? That would have been inconceivable under any previous administration, but now God knows. Or are we now entering an era in which companies that do favors for Trump and co., either in the form of money or support for their policies, get lucrative insider briefings?
Yup.
Klepto-kakistocracy. It’s all about the grift.
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A hot take from The Register, a snarky tech site I used to regularly enjoy:
Trump blinks: 'Substantially' lower China tariffs promised
Detail? Rationale? Timeline? Nope! Maybe a struggling stock market and Beijing hinting about 'countermeasures' helped?
What a clown. It was
only a week ago that the Orange Emperor said
I am a very flexible person. I don't change my mind but I am flexible.
WTF does that even mean?
And you have to be because you can't have just a wall and you go along it, sometimes you have to go around it, under it or above it
WTF does
that even…oh, never mind…
‘Tis a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
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Of course there was a con. The grift never stops with this administration.
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Of course there was a con. The grift never stops with this administration.
Tell us something we don't know.
This is the first I've heard of how this grift was done.
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Christokryptokleptokakistofascism at it's finest.
Way to go, Jamie Dimon. Bread for you and your special guests, a circus for the rest of us.
SEC statute of limitations on insider trading is 2, 5, 6, or 10 years depending on precisely when you know what. Look for this kind of behavior to taper off after 2026. Until then, because it's obvious on its face and in the open, the much shorter 2 year timeline is applicable, and no one in this administration is going to enforce it.
Someone check what the Empire State's NYSE-specific and Fed Market Window rules are?
