This morning, Trump posted on Truth Social that the US and Iran have had "very good and productive conversations," and suspended strikes on Iranian power plants for 5 days.
In 9 minutes, global markets surged nearly 4%.
$3.8 trillion in market value created in the time it takes to make a coffee. That's more than France's entire national debt.
Then Iran denied everything. "No direct or indirect contact has taken place with Washington." Tehran called Trump's announcement "psychological warfare" aimed at lowering energy prices.
Markets dropped sharply, though not all the way back down.
We're in the middle of a war, the Strait of Hormuz has been virtually shut for 3 weeks, oil is flirting with $100, and global markets just pivoted on a single all-caps post on a social media platform.
Reality keeps outdoing fiction.