Trump’s Data War Has Begun

Up until a few months ago, I made my living from writing and side gigs. One of those gigs involved reading the tea leaves of market and economic data, then trading on it. I did this fairly well, and it helped soften the blow of my layoff last year.

I’m thankful for that good fortune. I was able to survive. But even with that, it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Because in this unrestrained capitalist society, we only survive if we can produce something of value that someone else is willing to buy. That value is rarely human, rarely kind, and any humanitarian support always comes with strings attached.

But that’s a topic for another post.

This post is about how Trump just introduced the biggest wildcard into our economy and financial system since the Great Depression.

Markets Move Fast, and Fear Faster

Markets have a “shoot first, ask questions later” approach. Every morning, I check the futures screen and look at volatility. It’s the classic fear-and-greed index — a gut check on how Wall Street feels about the latest headlines.

The market is a discounting mechanism. If it believes the economy will perform well and that policy from Washington is favorable to profits, prices rise. If the news is bad for investor gains, the market sells off. It’s as simple as that.

The reality is that Wall Street only cares about itself. Sometimes, its interests align with Main Street, but often it does not. If it comes down to it, Wall Street will throw Main Street to the wolves to protect its own.

And that’s exactly what just happened with Trump and his Liberation Day tariff stunt.