Scott Galloway isn't pulling any punches. In the latest episode of the "Prof G Pod," the NYU professor and entrepreneur said April 9 will go down as "the greatest day of insider trading in history."
At the center of the storm is President Donald Trump's sudden decision to pause tariffs for most countries while simultaneously raising them on China. That announcement sent markets into a tailspin.
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Wild Swings Spark Suspicion
Galloway’s co-host cited Wall Street Journal reporting that on April 9, the Dow Jones jumped nearly 8%, the S&P 500 rose almost 10%, and the Nasdaq had its best day in 24 years, climbing 12%. The so-called "Magnificent Seven" stocks gained $1.8 trillion in value.
But by April 10 afternoon, the rally fizzled when Trump raised China's tariff rate to 145%. The Dow dropped 1,000 points, and the S&P and Nasdaq gave back about 4% each.
“I think we’re going to find out that April 9th will go down in history as the greatest day of insider trading in history, where people were engaging in market manipulation and insider trading, trading on non-public material information because clearly, word got out,” he said.
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Trading on a Wink and a Nod?
Galloway and co-host Ed Elson said the timing of large options trades points to something more than luck. Someone, they said, made millions by buying zero-day call options on the S&P 500 just hours before Trump announced the tariff pause.
Those trades exploded in value “by more than 2,000%.” And they weren't subtle.
"People made and lost about a third of a billion dollars just on one strike price," Galloway said. "It was clear someone knew what was going to happen… In a digital world, there will be evidence of this."
The Democratic lawmakers are now calling for an investigation, and while the traders remain anonymous for now, Galloway is convinced the trades weren't based on guesswork. He suspects someone with knowledge of the decision tipped off friends or donors.
"April 9 is going to be D-Day for insider trading," Galloway said. “I think that will come out about a week after the next president is inaugurated. I think the SEC and forensic accountants are going to find that there was so much bad sh*t that went down [that day].
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When the Market Becomes a Meme
Beyond the trades, the podcast explored how much damage Trump's policy U-turns are doing to the U.S. economy. Elson said that “the president has turned our economy or our stock market into a meme stock” — surging and collapsing based on his tweets instead of company fundamentals.
They warned that while some traders might profit off volatility, average investors, especially those managing 401(k)s, got burned. April 7 was the fifth-largest 401(k) trading day in history, with many workers locking in losses by panic-selling during the dip.
The Real Economy Is Slowing
Galloway also pointed out what's happening off Wall Street: Microsoft MSFT shelved a $1 billion data center project in Ohio. Stellantis paused production in Canada and Mexico, resulting in 900 U.S. layoffs. Audi halted shipments to the U.S., and Amazon AMZN canceled large vendor orders across Asia.
Even Hollywood's feeling the pressure. China plans to reduce imports of American films, which brought in $585 million last year alone. "All of this nonsense is happening in the stock market… meanwhile, the real economy is grinding to a halt," Elson said.
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