During April, we saw early signs of the new generation of “traders” moving into the commodity complex, most notably SRW wheat.
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Late in the month, there were calls for the CFTC to rein in predictive market websites and “insider trading”. Interestingly enough, due to budget cuts made by the current US administration, this is unlikely to happen.
Join 200K+ Subscribers: Find out why the midday Barchart Brief newsletter is a must-read for thousands daily. With trade in the commodity complex lurching toward meme stock status, it's doesn't look like it will end well for those still trying to use markets as a way of passing price risk up the ladder.
In late April (2026), I had the opportunity to visit with Michele Steele of StocktwitsTV regarding my recent writings on 1) The evolution of markets being driven by headlines rather than real fundamentals, 2) The predictability of what those headlines will be based on 3) The current US administration’s ability to manipulate markets (any sector) based on social media posts. As we talked about, and as I’ve said in numerous other interviews and conversations, the ongoing insider trading based on the timing of the US president’s social media posts is unprecedented. At least in modern day US history. The thought I usually leave audiences with is to point out the irony of the situation: Folks who were up in arms over Hillary Clinton’s skill and/or luck as a cattle futures trader have been silent as a stone (no, not a Rolling Stone) about what’s going on these days.
