Conflicting accounts over decision to pause US tariffs

The past week will be remembered as one of the most turbulent in recent history.

- Ryk van Niekerk

It was not triggered by a structural event like the 2008 global financial crisis or the Covid pandemic in 2020.

This time, the cause was the president of the world's most powerful nation – and what he has previously described as "the most beautiful word in the dictionary": tariffs.

Last Wednesday I saw his message: "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT."

I found it odd – but Trump is a strange man, and I didn't think too much about it.

That was until a few hours later when he announced a 90-day pause on implementing draconian tariffs for all countries except China.

"DJT" is not only the president's initials, but also the stock ticker of Trump Media & Technology, the company behind Truth Social. Its share price jumped by 22% following the announcement.

The broader market responded just as sharply. The S&P 500 surged more than 9% by the close, and the Nasdaq rose over 12%.

Suspicious timing