This Week in Barrons: 03.29.2026

In partnership with

• “Golden Age of Grift” ... Just prior to Pres. Trump’s 5-day Iran pause tweet, ~$1B in S&P futures were bought.  His tweet sent futures soaring, generating hundreds of millions in profit.  [FYI: I wish I could do insider trading.]

• Backstopping a market via tweeting ... With the SPX sitting on its 200-dma, Trump appeared to stabilize markets through a series of well-timed tweets, each triggering rallies.  If a “boots on the ground” escalation follows, this week’s rally may prove to be a liquidity exit for trapped longs.  [FYI: Stay Safe and remember to Buy Protection.]

• Privacy will soon begin to matter again ... The popular open-source AI tool LiteLLM (3.4m daily downloads) was compromised via an attack that stole credentials. Despite having SOC2 & ISO 27001 badges, the malware slipped through and raised fresh questions and doubts about the value of cyber-security compliance badges.

•  J.P. Morgan’s insights:

  o Hormuz disruption timeline: Asia now, Africa in early April, Europe by mid-April, U.S. around April 15. Chaos now has a schedule.

  o JPM CEO Jamie Dimon warns AI-fueled unemployment could outpace society’s ability to absorb it – urging new governmental retraining incentives.

• Meta’s struggles:

  o Meta is cutting 16,000 jobs ... not the 12,000 previously anticipated.

  o A New Mexico jury fines Meta $375m for failing to prevent child exploitation on its apps.

  o An L.A. jury finds Meta and YouTube negligent in a lawsuit over app addiction.

• The FCC bans foreign routers ... due to cybersecurity risks from China-linked hacking groups – immediately reshaping the entire market.

• The Anthropic lawsuit:  Anthropic secures a preliminary injunction against the Pentagon’s designation of Claude as a "supply chain risk.”  The judge ruled our government’s retaliation was an illegal tactic after contract talks collapsed.

1,000+ Proven ChatGPT Prompts That Help You Work 10X Faster

ChatGPT is insanely powerful.

But most people waste 90% of its potential by using it like Google.

These 1,000+ proven ChatGPT prompts fix that and help you work 10X faster.

Sign up for Superhuman AI and get:

• 1,000+ ready-to-use prompts to solve problems in minutes instead of hours—tested & used by 1M+ professionals

• Superhuman AI newsletter (3 min daily) so you keep learning new AI tools & tutorials to stay ahead in your career—the prompts are just the beginning

Claim your free prompts

• Fertilizer prices spiked 43% ... driving higher grocery bills this fall. Farmers face a tough choice: pay the higher price, plant less, or skip planting altogether due to the time-sensitive nature of farming.

• Amazon is buying more robot delivery toys...

  o Rivr, a startup behind a stair-climbing delivery robot to enhance logistics.

  o Fauna Robotics and its humanoid bot = Sprout, which can walk, crawl, and jump.

• Blue Origin plans to launch 51,600 AI data center satellites into orbit.

• This energy crisis is NOT like the ‘70’s ... because in this case over 40 energy assets across 9 Middle Eastern nations have been seriously damaged.

• CATL (a Chinese company) powers 1/3 of all global EVs:  Ford needs CATL tech for its Michigan factory, and GM imports CATL batteries – paying the 60% tariff.  Washington sees CATL as a security threat, but Detroit views it as essential.  [FYI: They’re both right.]

• Private credit issues

  o Apollo froze redemptions on its $25B fund.

  o KKR was downgraded to junk by Moody's.

  o UBS halted withdrawals from its $469m real estate fund ... for ~3 yrs.

  o And JPM is auditing its own loan books for software exposure while building products to short the same sector

•  Fannie Mae will accept crypto-backed mortgages ... allowing homebuyers to use digital assets like Bitcoin in underwriting, pushing crypto into mainstream finance.

• The White House released an AI policy framework ... urging Congress to create a federal AI standard, overriding state-level regulations it deems burdensome.

• Jeff Bezos is raising $100B ... to acquire manufacturing companies and integrate AI into the physical economy.

• OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent ...  is being integrated into robots in China, raising data privacy concerns among Beijing regulators.

• Anthropic previewed Dispatch ... that allows Claude AI to control desktops remotely.  The system enables task delegation via phone and could reduce the necessity to be in front of our computer screens 24/7.

• Apple ...

  o Plans to introduce Google-style search ads in Apple Maps this summer to boost services revenue.

  o Is testing a standalone Siri app and a new "Ask Siri" chatbot, both set to debut in iOS 27 at WWDC in June.

• Per H. Thompson: Turkey’s Central Bank sold gold ... to defend the lira amid foreign investor outflows and $30B+ in foreign exchange interventions triggered by the Iran War.

• Money-Market funds hold ~$7.9T ... just waiting for our FED to cut rates.  This cash was expected to flow into the stock market in March or April, but the Iran War has delayed that – possibly until the end of the year.

• Elon Musk’s SpaceX IPO ... could end-up being the largest (and strangest) IPO in history. Elon plans a June $1.5T SpaceX + xAI IPO.  The offering will reserve 30% of shares for retail investors, making it one of the most unconventional IPOs – while testing the market’s appetite for Musk's vision.

•  The following 6 ‘truths’ became apparent this week:

  1. The oil shock has moved from disruption to restructuring ... with Kuwait’s CEO stating production recovery will take months / years with Qatar’s Ras Laffan complex needing ~5 yrs. of repairs.  10-20% of global oil and exportable natural gas are offline due to destruction.

  2. AI buildout faces physical constraints that capital alone can’t resolve...and significant production expansion isn’t expected until late 2027.

  3. Private credit (already under pressure) - worsened.  Lloyd Blankfein warned that private market assets haven't ‘marked-to-market’ in years – likely leading to further downside correction.

  4. 3 key elements changed in the last 72 hours ...  Anthropic's injunction against the government, Constellation’s grid delay, and the probability of an Interest Rate Increase crossed over 50%.

  5. Infrastructure bets pay off ... as the AI cycle begins to focus on physical infrastructure – solving the power, cooling, and chip constraints that models rely on - moved to the forefront.

  6. We can’t rewrite the Farming calendar ... The Iran War’s inflationary effects are arriving in stages: energy first, then fertilizer, and the corresponding food price increases will arrive at harvest.  [FYI: Last month’s CPI report reflects a world that no longer exists.]

• An inverted cup-n-handle pattern is targeting the Nasdaq 2,000 points lower...  The Nasdaq’s bearish sentiment readings declined this week – which means that the market will get worse before it gets better.  The VIX is coiling, and pros expect (a) rates to surge, (b) the dollar to rip, (c) crude to climb, (d) stocks and crypto to drop, and (e) volatility to explode.  Then, (f) the market will bottom.

• Shorts are piling into XLE while energy stocks keep ripping. Chevron, Exxon, Talos, and Permian Resource Group are all in clean uptrends.  Comparing today to 2008 energy is wrong.  We have inflation now, not deflation.  Exxon now trades at the same P/E as Nvidia.  The market is treating energy like a growth industry, not a cyclical one. 

• The USDA planting report drops Tuesday... but will be out of date before it drops. The survey ran before the fertilizer cost increases (+43%) hit farmer’s budgets. 

• Iran can block the Strait of Hormuz with missile launchers on pickup trucks... and that doesn't change with a carrier group nearby.

• Factually...  (a) The S&Ps have broken key support; therefore, bears are in control. (b) Correlations and Leveraged ETF trading all point to a bounce.  (c) Longer-term market cycle indicators are highlighting the risk of a bear market.  (d) Markets may need to change their focus from TACO to Fed Put.  (e) Midterm election malaise can produce magical (subsequent) returns.  Overall, per Callum Thomas: as short-term signals brush up against longer-term issues, markets are “getting closer” to a major market bottom.  A key conundrum is (a) whether TACO is still a thing and what’s the quick fix, or (b) whether it’s time to rebalance our attention from ‘truths’ and ‘tweets’ to FED Puts.

• HODLs: (Hold-On for Dear Life):

  - Reducing:

  o  (-) Ethereum (ETH = 1,987 / in at $310)

  o (-) Bitcoin (BTC = $66,180 / in at $4,310)

  o (-) QQQI (13% covered-call, QQQ’s divi. producer == pay mo.)

   

  - Holding & Increasing:

  o (o) Physical Commodities = Gold @ $4,521/oz. & Silver @ $69.7/oz.

  o (o) SLV (silver ETF) == ($63.4 / in at $27)

  o (o) GLD – Gold ETF ($414.7 / in at $212)

  o (o) COPX (copper mine ETF) == ($71 / in at $55.3)

  o (o) CCJ (uranium) == ($103.9 / in at $84)

  o (++) KMI (Kinder Morgan) ($34 / in at $33.10) ... in for +3% Divi + Sell $34 and $34.5 Cov. Call for +$1 / mo. 3% / mo.

  o (o) ATXRF (small copper & gold miner) == ($2.14 / in at $2.47)

  o (+) MTZ (MasTec, the grid’s builder) == ($316 / in at $268)

  o (+) PWR (Quanta Services, king of the grid) == ($550 / in at $525)

  o (o) HYPE (HyperLiquid, exchange) == ($40 / in at $32)

  o (o) ICSH (short term bonds = 4.65% yield == pay mo.)

   

  Please be safe out there!

• _{Expressed thoughts offered within the BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of noted entrepreneur, professor and author, R.F. Culbertson, contributing sources and those he interviews.  You can subscribe by visiting: https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com/subscribe.}

• _{Please write to Mr. Culbertson at: <[email protected]> to inform him of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/> and/or https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com}

• If you'd like to see R.F. in action - please feel free to view the TED talk that he gave on Fearless Investing.

• Creativity = https://youtu.be/n2QiPSe_dKk 

• Sales = https://youtu.be/blKw0zb6SZk

• Startup Incinerator = https://youtu.be/ieR6vzCFldI

• To unsubscribe please refer to the bottom of the email.

• Views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of, or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations. Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not registered and licensed brokers. This message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document. Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of each article.

• Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson and Associates.

• PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN INVESTING. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT SOME PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

• Alternative investment performance can be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an investor's interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to develop.

• All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

To Subscribe: https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>  and/or
https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com.

Until next week – be safe.

R.F. Culbertson

<mailto:[email protected]>

http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com

https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com