Tag: stock market

House approves long-awaited stock trading ‘ban’ — here’s who the largest traders are

The House passed a sweeping set of restrictions on stock trades by lawmakers and their spouses that was paired with a voter ID provision that scared off many Democrats. 

The “Stop Insider Trading Act” cleared the House 232 to 198, with the full support of Republicans and 13 Democrats on board.

This includes Reps. Kathy Castor of Florida, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Susie Lee of Nevada, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Darren Soto of Florida, and Derek Tran of California.

Complicating things for Democrats was the voter ID provision in the bill, which would’ve required photo identification to cast a ballot. 

Given that dynamic, there appears to be little appetite for the “Stop Insider Trading Act” in its current form in the Senate, which is subject to the 60-vote filibuster.

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Report: Trump Sons Build Defense Portfolio as Pentagon Billions Flow

President Donald Trump’s sons have built a broad portfolio of defense technology investments as their father’s administration directs more money toward drones, robotics, artificial intelligence, and other new weapons systems.

Funds linked to Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump have invested in at least 15 companies seeking business from the Pentagon and other federal agencies, according to a Washington Post analysis. Most of the investments came after Trump won reelection.

Since the sons invested, says the report,

The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct government business since the sons invested and an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options. Some have gained coveted spots on shortlists of preapproved contractors that can bid exclusively on up to nearly $200 billion in future work.

The explosion of the family’s financial wealth does not stop with the sons. A disclosure filed in 2026 showed that Trump himself reported at least $2.2 billion in income for 2025, up from about $600 million the previous year. That works out to roughly $6 million per day. His accounts also made thousands of securities trades across the economy, including investments in defense companies and other industries heavily regulated by, or dependent on, federal policy.

The Money Trail

The Trump sons’ investments reportedly flow mainly through two firms.

Donald Trump, Jr. joined venture-capital firm 1789 Capital as a partner within days of his father’s 2024 election victory. The firm promotes what its partners call “patriotic capitalism.” It invested in 11 of the 15 defense, robotics, and AI companies identified by The Post.

Meanwhile, Eric Trump has invested primarily through American Ventures. The firm operates through Dominari Holdings, a small investment bank based in Trump Tower. Eric Trump told the outlet that he was “one of several passive investors.”

Neither brother holds a government position. Neither had notable experience in defense technology before the investment drive began. Both remain executive vice presidents of the Trump Organization.

The Companies

The companies that the Trump-linked firms invested in range from industry giants to little-known startups.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX accounted for about $2.1 billion in direct federal business after the investment and another $1.2 billion in potential commitments, according to The Post. Musk was also Trump’s largest financial backer in 2024. He spent nearly $300 million supporting Trump and other Republicans.

SpaceX was already deeply dependent on Washington. As of February 2025, it reportedly held about $22 billion in government contracts, including roughly $15 billion from NASA.

Its military role has since expanded sharply. This May, SpaceX won a $4.16 billion Space Force contract for satellites designed to track and target airborne threats. Days earlier, it secured another $2.29 billion to build a military satellite communications network.

Those systems could form important parts of Trump’s controversial Golden Dome missile shield. SpaceX was previously identified as a leading contender for the program, alongside Anduril and Palantir (all run by Trump’s mega donors).

Anduril ranked second in The Post’s tally. It accounted for about $1 billion in direct government business and another $122.9 million in potential work. The company builds autonomous drones, surveillance systems, missiles, and counter-drone technology.

Together, SpaceX and Anduril accounted for 97 percent of the direct federal money identified by The Post.

The remaining investments covered automated weapons factories, rare earth magnets, quantum computing, humanoid robots, drones, rocket fuel, and targeting software. Hadrian and Vulcan Elements secured the largest potential commitments among the smaller firms. Other companies included Databricks, Foundation Future Industries, Unusual Machines, Firehawk Aerospace, Perplexity AI, PsiQuantum, and Aeon Industrial.

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Elon Musk Threatens Legal Action Against Ro Khanna After Congressman’s Outrageous Lie

Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X, has had it.

According to the New York Post, in a recent appearance on the leftist “I’ve Had It” podcast with insufferable host Jennifer Welch, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California insisted that Musk “needs to answer” for the “4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID” while Musk ran President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, in early 2025.

“Time to sue this liar,” Musk wrote Tuesday on X.

But Musk, who recently became the world’s first trillionaire, did not stop at the threat of a lawsuit. In fact, he made Khanna’s name synonymous with congressional stock trading.

“The standard applied by DOGE was very simple and easy: Provide contact information for the recipients of aid, so that we can confirm it is not fraudulent. The reality is that money was being sent to corrupt politicians under the guise of aid! Liars and stock insider traders like Ro the Robber should be in prison!!” Musk wrote.

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Andrew Left faces 20 years in prison — but having a correct opinion about a stock shouldn’t be a crime

This past Tuesday afternoon, I rang up Andrew Left, the high-profile short seller long known for meticulously documenting allegations of alleged corporate malfeasance and placing bets against companies like Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Shopify and Chinese real estate giant Evergrande.

“Hey Charlie, I’m at the airport,” Left said as he picked up. “I’m sitting down, having a vodka.”

Given what had transpired just hours earlier, it wasn’t hard to understand the sitting-down-having-a-vodka part. Late Monday night, after a two-week trial, Left was convicted in Los Angeles federal court of 13 counts of securities fraud.

Prosecutors alleged Left circulated his research on social media and financial TV to move a bunch of stocks and make a ton of money. That constituted market manipulation, they said, and got a jury to agree with them.

It sounds to me like what Wall Street does every day — people who “talk their book” — not to mention all the retail trolls you see on X trying to gin up interest in speculative stuff that loses money. Even so, Left now faces 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in ­August.

Truth be told, there’s something unsettling in what Left admits he did: Purposely pushing stock prices around to make a quick buck. Big firms have strict rules around trading off research, placing stocks on so-called restricted lists. Reporters like myself don’t buy individual stocks out of fear our reporting will get us jammed up because we can move prices.

Yes, the trading may look fishy, and this type of trading around ­research reports and public comments has been a legal gray area. Purposely moving stocks can be construed as stock manipulation. Fishy, though, isn’t something that’s supposed to land you in prison for 20 years.

Try telling that to a jury — as Left’s lawyers did. In one day of trading, Left could make more than most of those people earned in a lifetime. It didn’t help that Left made his bones as a short seller. Making money from pushing stocks down in value just doesn’t sit well with most people, even if it means exposing various abuses and is necessary for markets to function properly.

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Bernie Sanders’ Bill Would Have Government Take Half of AI Companies’ Stock

Artificial intelligence and data centers are the shiny new thing, so of course, in the eyes of Democratic senators like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, it’s something new to tax. Socialist Sanders sees dollar signs in front of his eyes, and the progressive media outlet More Perfect Union is happy to announce that Sanders will introduce a bill that will have the government (“the public”) take 50 percent of the stock of the country’s biggest AI companies.

Sounds like communist propaganda, but OK.

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Quantum Stocks Erupt As U.S. Gov’t Awards $2 Billion, Takes Equity Stakes

IBM and small-cap quantum names, including IonQ, D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, Infleqtion, and other peers, are surging in New York premarket trading after a Wall Street Journal report said the Trump administration is preparing to award $2 billion in CHIPS Act grants to nine quantum-computing companies.

IBM is set to receive half of the $2 billion tranche, or about $1 billion, as the large-cap leader in the race to build quantum computing systems that could revolutionize national security, accelerate scientific discovery, and deliver a range of other economic benefits.

WSJ, citing the Commerce Department, outlined the companies expected to receive funding from the 2022 Chips and Science Act:

The department has agreed to give $1 billion of the package to IBM, a leader in the race to build computers that use quantum mechanics to solve problems much faster than traditional supercomputers.

. . .

IBM and other companies are working to develop specialized chips for quantum computing, a focus for the government in its bid to spur domestic supply chains. Chip maker GlobalFoundries is receiving $375 million in funding.

The rest of the firms are expected to receive $100 million, except for startup Diraq, which is slated to get $38 million.

A slew of companies pursuing various approaches to quantum are slated to be awarded funds, including publicly traded firms D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing and Infleqtion.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s strategy of using federal funding in exchange for equity stakes will also apply to the quantum computing companies listed above. This is similar to a series of other deals, especially in the rare earths space, including rare-earth magnet maker Vulcan Elements and mining company MP Materials.

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We Voted for Trump. We Got a Kamala Harris DOJ. The Michael Castillero Case Exposes That Little Has Changed at the SDNY — and Todd Blanche Either Doesn’t Know or Doesn’t Care

The Trump DOJ is suppressing free speech.

Michael Castillero ran a pre-IPO investment fund. He was charged with allegedly charging extra fees that he did not disclose to his investors. The evidence showed and the judge acknowledged that the investors made money and “sustained no out-of-pocket losses.” But he’s going to prison because they would have made even more money had Castillero disclosed the fees.

This is the case that the Biden-era Southern District of New York (SDNY) chose to bring criminal charges over. Not a civil suit. A federal criminal prosecution — with guns drawn, assets seized, and a man’s family left in financial ruin. For a fee dispute, Michael Castillero will go to prison.

But it gets even worse. The DOJ is asking the judge for additional prison time because Castille suggested that he is a victim of politically motivated weaponization.

The Prosecution That Trump’s DOJ Inherited and Chose to Continue

Castillero was indicted in 2023 under the Biden administration. He is a Trump donor. He posted memes about the stolen election. He dined at Mar-a-Lago. He frequented Trump properties and was at the announcement when Trump said he was running again. He believed — as tens of millions of Americans believed — that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. The prosecution continued past President Trump’s inauguration. Castillero was convicted by a New York jury – like President Trump – and is now awaiting sentencing.

After his conviction but before his sentencing, Castillero went on podcasts and tried to tell his side of the story. He suggested that his prosecution was motivated by political weaponization. The SDNY says that is a lie. But they don’t simply deny it in a press release. SDNY went to the judge and demanded that he be punished for even suggesting that the SDNY engages in weaponization.

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Target Hospitality Jumps As Data Center Boom Fuels Demand For Worker Camps

Target Hospitality shares jumped in premarket trading after the company announced a new contract to provide mobile housing solutions and related hospitality services for workers at data center construction projects.

The 48-month contract could generate upward of $750 million in revenue for Target Hospitality, which builds, owns, leases, and operates large temporary or semi-permanent “communities” for workers of major projects. The contract covers 3,370 beds.

Historically, Target Hospitality generated revenue from energy, natural resources, and government-related customers, but since the data center buildout boom, its temporary housing solution services have been in high demand.

The company said that since the start of the year, it has announced over $1.4 billion in multi-year contracts amid data center buildouts, representing more than 9,000 beds.

“These awards reinforce the scale, customer relevance and capital-efficient deployment capabilities of Target Hyper/Scale, while strengthening Target’s exposure to long-duration demand across AI-driven data center and related critical infrastructure development,” the company wrote in a press release.

CEO Brad Archer wrote in a statement that the company is “entering the next phase of our growth with strong momentum and increasing confidence in our long‑term strategy. Since February 2025, we have secured more than $2.0 billion of multi‑year contracts, including approximately $1.8 billion within our rapidly expanding WHS segment, meaningfully enhancing revenue visibility, supporting consistent cash flows and driving improved margin contributions. These wins position Target to further expand its presence across high-value end markets with long-term momentum.”

In premarket trading, Target Hospitality is up nearly 10%. On the year, the stock has surged 91%, as of Friday’s close.

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Oil trader pockets reported $125 mn on suspiciously well-timed Iran bet – media

A massive crude oil bet placed shortly before reports of a possible US-Iran peace deal sent prices crashing and fueled suspicion of insider trading, after the position reportedly generated a $125 million profit in just over an hour.

According to market commentary platform the Kobeissi Letter, nearly 10,000 crude oil short contracts were placed around 3:40 AM (07:40 GMT) on Wednesday “without any major news,” describing the roughly $920 million position as unusually large for that time of day.

At 4:50 AM, Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were nearing an agreement to end the conflict and resume negotiations. Oil prices plunged more than 12% within two hours of the report, turning the short position into an estimated $125 million profit before the price later rebounded, the platform said.

During the US-Israeli war against Iran, prediction and traditional financial markets were flooded with suspiciously well-timed bets linked to airstrikes, ceasefire announcements, and diplomatic developments.

According to The Guardian, traders placed more than $1 billion in seemingly prescient wagers, including an $850,000 bet shortly before US strikes against Iran and around $950 million in oil futures hours before Trump announced a ceasefire in April. AP reported that the ceasefire announcement alone generated more than 413 million predictions and over $100 million in wagers across prediction markets within days.

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DOJ Investigating Suspicious Iran War Oil Trading Trend: Report

Ups and downs in the war with Iran may have been an opportunity for insiders betting on oil prices to make a killing, according to a new report.

The report from ABC News said the Department of Justice is taking a close look at several oil market trades that came just before critical moments in the war with Iran.

In four transactions under review, the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are examining trades that netted more than $2.6 billion to individuals who bet oil prices would drop immediately before they did so.

From the start of the conflict on Feb. 28, the oil market has been up and down depending upon Iran’s strategy, America’s response, and expectations that oil might again flow freely.

The London Stock Exchange Group highlighted the trades, which began on March 23, when 15 minutes before President Donald Trump announced a delay on attacks against Iranian infrastructure, a $500 million bet was placed that oil prices would dip.

On April 7, only hours ahead of Trump’s announcement of a temporary halt in hostilities, a $960 million bet was placed that oil prices would fall.

On April 17, 20 minutes before Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would be opened, a $760 million bet was placed that oil prices were going to drop.

On April 21, 15 minutes before the ceasefire was extended, $430 million worth of bets was placed predicting oil prices were going down.

The Guardian noted last month that the conflict has been accompanied by unprecedented betting on events through online betting platforms, with many bets being precisely timed to events in the war.

For example, according to one complaint before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, six so-called insiders reaped $1.2 million from betting when former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would be killed.

Reining this in through legislation is a complex task, if it can be done at all, one expert said.

“Is the problem that we don’t have legislation or that we don’t have enforcement capabilities?” Joshua Mitts, a law professor at Columbia University, said.

“To have a law that can’t really be enforced effectively given the technological limitations, it’s sort of putting the cart before the horse,” he said.

The oil price bets appear suspicious, another expert said.

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