Matt Peterson

That is, taking advantage of the fact that rules against self-dealing appear to have a giant loophole for prediction markets.

A trader in Europe recently told me they have learned to specifically watch for these kinds of last-minute prediction-market bets. They have made profitable trades by inferring that insiders are taking advantage of rules against self-dealing.

Congratulations!

Karen Petrou, founder of Federal Financial Analytics, dies A highly esteemed bank policy researcher and author, Petrou was an influential voice in Washington and sharp critic of the Federal Reserve's ultra-low interest rate policy after the 2008 financial cri...

Terribly sad to hear about the passing of Karen Petrou. I worked with her as an editor and an interviewer many times, and she was always insightful and kind. I will miss her. www.americanbanker.com/news/karen-p...

Thank you!

Personal update! I’m joining CNBC next week as senior economics writer. Super excited to be working again with Dave Cho, the best editor-in-chief in the business, and the rest of the gang.

Screenshot of Zohran Mamdani’s X account with the text “we’ve got a full snow day tomorrow.”

👑

I’m on vacation waiting for my new job to start, so tbqh the Kevins can say whatever they want

My sense is that Warsh plans to take a less aggressive approach to the staff than Hassett would have. Hassett endorsed widespread cuts. Warsh talked about “breaking heads” but never committed to serious staff reductions.

TBD obviously.

FDA reverses course, agrees to review Moderna’s flu vaccine The FDA reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine, the company announced Wednesday.

The FDA reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine, the company announced Wednesday. www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/f...

The Marriage Bureau is the happiest place in New York. 10/10 would recommend

Job news! I'm moving on from Barron's after six incredible years. Thanks to all the brilliant people I worked with inside the newsroom and out.

I'll be joining another excellent news organization in a couple of weeks, so feel free to cause as much chaos as you like before then.

Congrats. You’ve had a great run. Look forward to reading you at the new place.

BREAKING: @lizzylawrence.bsky.social reports that CBER director Vinay Prasad overruled career #FDA staff and unilaterally decided to refusal to accept #Moderna 's #flu vaccine submission. www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/m...

Larry Kudlow on Fox Biz asks Trump if it's worth holding up the Warsh nomination over the Powell investigation.

Trump: "I don’t know, I mean we’ll have to see what happens. Look I’ve been fighting Thom Tillis for a long time. So much so that he ended up quitting. So let’s see."

“I would launch a crypto scam right now, because there’s no cops on the beat.”

The Chicago enforcement division of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is known as a group of heavy-hitters. Trial attorneys and investigators in the Chicago office have had a role in most major CFTC enforcement actions since the birth of the agency in 1975, including prosecuting self-serving traders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME -1.26% in the late ‘80s and pursuing civil charges against cryptocurrency fraudsters like Sam Bankman-Fried. In recent months, that office has become a ghost town. A team once comprised of 20 enforcement attorneys now has one, people familiar with the office tell Barron’s. After this story was first published, Barron’s learned that the last remaining lawyer resigned. That attorney has not responded to requests for comment.

Yesterday our Nick Devor wrote that the CFTC was down to its last enforcement attorney in its influential Chicago office.

That last attorney has now also resigned, Nick reports.

www.barrons.com/articles/pre...

How a London newspaper botched a New York political story Welcome to New York.

Could be worse! www.semafor.com/article/10/2...

🤷

For real though, it is too early for the White House to have seen the jobs report, right? I thought they only got it a day before (it comes out Wednesday.)

One Generation Runs the Country. The Next Cashed In on Crypto. Sons of top Trump administration officials made billions for their families, but their investors didn’t always fare so well.

"World Liberty has earned the Trump family at least $1.2 billion in cash in the 16 months since its launch, not counting paper gains of at least $2.25 billion from various crypto holdings...The Witkoffs have earned at least $200 million from World Liberty."

Great questions. TMTG stock was all awarded to the Trumps, but I don’t think we know those details for World Liberty, ABTC etc

The image features a line graph set against a white background with a light red shaded area beneath the trend line. The Trend: The line starts on the left (around Feb 1) at approximately $1.50. It maintains a jagged but relatively flat level until midday on Feb 3, where it begins a sharp, consistent decline. The Vertical Axis (Price): Ranges from $1.10 at the bottom to $1.60 at the top. The Horizontal Axis (Time): Marked with dates from February 2 through February 5. Current Position: The line ends at its lowest point on the far right of the chart, marked with a solid red dot at the $1.15 mark. (Summary written with AI)

Just checking in on American Bitcoin, the Eric Trump venture that is a leveraged bet on Bitcoin.

This transcript is a gripping and revealing read

Washington Post Begins Sweeping Layoffs

NEWS: The cuts were so severe that at least one department head asked to leave The Post rather than be included in the planning.

Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...

Washington Post reporter laid off while freezing in a war zone by one of the world’s richest people.

Bedrock, an A.I. Start-Up for Construction, Raises $270 Million

My brother’s robotics company continues to kick ass. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...

FBI Couldn’t Get into WaPo Reporter’s iPhone Because It Had Lockdown Mode Enabled Lockdown Mode is a sometimes overlooked feature of Apple devices that broadly make them harder to hack. A court record indicates the feature might be effective at stopping third parties unlocking some...

NEW: The FBI has been unable to access a Washington Post reporter’s seized iPhone because it was in Lockdown Mode, a sometimes overlooked feature that makes iPhones broadly more secure, according to recently filed court records.

The @washingtonpost.com is facing massive layoffs today. It keeps getting harder and harder out there for professional journalists.

Solidarity.

That’s so nice!