Stock markets went haywire on Monday morning as rumors of an impending tariff respite caused the S&P 500 to soar over 7%, and then give up nearly all those gains as the White House pronounced the rumor to be "fake news." The episode, which began with a tweet around 10 a.m. ET, underscored both the current market skittishness as well as the peril of relying on social-media accounts.
The tweet in question came from an anonymous X account known as Walter Bloomberg (an apparent reference to the financial news service Bloomberg) that publishes a series of rapid-fire headlines. On Monday, the account tweeted that the director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, said President Donald Trump was considering a 90-day pause on all tariffs except China.
