Copy of Evidence Of Insider Trading In The Oil Markets; US Lawmakers Awakened Against Prediction Market Sports Betting; OpenAI’s “Guaranteed Returns”; And Zuckerberg’s CEO AI Agent

Markets are getting yanked around by everything at once. Stock and oil futures saw a strange burst of activity just minutes before Trump’s market-moving post, while lawmakers are now moving to ban sports prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, putting the fast-growing sector on notice. At the same time, OpenAI is reportedly guaranteeing private-market investors a 17.5% minimum return to help win enterprise deals, and Mark Zuckerberg is building an AI agent to help him do his own job as Meta leans harder into automation from the top down. Big money, bigger control fights, and another reminder that the future is being priced in fast. All this and more in today’s Read It And  Eat!

Markets Around The World

Markets as of 23rd March 2026. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.

MAJOR HEADLINES

• Oil Traders Placed $800 Million In Bets Minutes Before Trump Iran Pivot

In the minutes leading up to a market-moving post from Donald Trump, traders placed massive, unusually timed bets across oil and equity futures markets. Reports show a sharp spike in activity roughly 15 minutes before the announcement with hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into positions that would soon profit from a sudden reversal in sentiment. The timing stood out even more because it occurred during thin early-morning trading, where such concentrated volume is highly visible.

Trump’s post claimed there had been “productive” talks with Iran and announced a pause in planned strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure a move that sent oil prices tumbling and equities sharply higher. However, Iran quickly denied that any such talks had taken place, directly contradicting the narrative that moved global markets. This disconnect between U.S. messaging and Iran’s response only deepened confusion and amplified suspicions around the trades that preceded the announcement.

The deeper takeaway isn’t just about suspicious timing it’s about positioning. Even if no formal talks existed, the market interpreted Trump’s move as a signal of de-escalation, reinforcing a broader pattern where he threatens aggressively and then pulls back. This perception often referred to in markets as the “TACO trade” (Trump Always Chickens Out) suggests traders may be betting less on facts and more on behavioral patterns. In that sense, the real signal wasn’t the post itself, but what it implied: a willingness to step back from confrontation, and a market increasingly confident in pricing that in ahead of time. CNBC

• Lawmakers Are Seeking To Ban Sports Betting Contracts On Prediction Markets

A bipartisan Senate bill is targeting sports betting on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, aiming to close what lawmakers see as a loophole that lets event-contract platforms function like betting apps without being treated as traditional sportsbooks. AP reported that the legislation would prohibit firms regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from offering sports-related contracts, while related reporting noted that the bill is being framed as a consumer-protection and integrity measure rather than a straightforward gambling crackdown.

The platforms are already responding by tightening their own rules. Kalshi has said it will block politicians and athletes from trading in markets directly tied to them and is adding stronger screening and whistleblower tools; Polymarket has also updated its policies around confidential information and insider-style trading. That response underscores a central problem for prediction markets: the more popular they become, the more they start looking like betting exchanges in the eyes of regulators and lawmakers.

If the bill gains traction, the impact would be much bigger than a few product changes. Sports contracts are a meaningful part of the growth story for these platforms, and a federal ban would force them to rethink revenue, product design, and how they position themselves versus state-regulated sportsbooks. The fight also reflects a broader policy clash over whether prediction markets are financial instruments, gambling products, or something in between. Morning Brew

• OpenAI guarantees 17.5% returns to private market investors while Raising an additional $5 Billion 

OpenAI is stepping deeper into financial engineering as it competes for dominance in enterprise AI. According to Reuters, the company is offering private equity partners a guaranteed minimum return of 17.5%, alongside preferential access to its latest models. The structure is designed to attract firms like TPG and Advent into joint ventures that bundle capital with AI deployment effectively turning investors into distribution channels for OpenAI’s technology. In a market where model performance alone is no longer enough, OpenAI is now competing on deal structure as much as product.

The scale of the ambition is equally telling. OpenAI is reportedly looking to raise around $5 billion for this joint venture at a valuation of roughly $10 billion pre-money, highlighting just how aggressively it is pushing into enterprise infrastructure. The idea is simple but powerful: by co-investing with private equity firms, OpenAI gains immediate access to hundreds of portfolio companies, accelerating adoption of its tools across industries from finance to healthcare. This turns what would normally be a slow enterprise sales cycle into a rapid, capital-fueled rollout.

The broader implication is that AI is no longer just a technology race it’s a capital war. By guaranteeing returns, OpenAI is lowering the risk for investors while locking in long-term distribution for its models, a strategy that could significantly outpace rivals like Anthropic. But it also raises questions: if AI companies need to underwrite returns to win deals, how sustainable is the economics long term? For now, though, OpenAI is making one thing clear in the fight for enterprise dominance, it is willing to spend, structure, and scale faster than anyone else. Bankless

• Zuckerberg is building an AI agent to help him be CEO

Mark Zuckerberg is building a personal AI agent meant to help him do his job as Meta’s chief executive, according to the Wall Street Journal. The goal is to create a system that helps him retrieve information faster and bypass some of the layers that normally sit between a CEO and the details he needs. It is a very Meta move: use AI not only as a product to sell, but as an internal operating system for the company itself.

The WSJ reporting says Meta’s internal AI push is already much broader than one executive assistant. Employees are using tools with names like “My Claw” and “Second Brain,” and the company has reorganized parts of its AI work into a flatter structure while tying AI use to performance expectations. That suggests Meta is trying to become an AI-native company from the inside out, not just an advertiser or social network that happens to build AI features.

The upside is obvious: faster decisions, less bureaucracy, and a more productive management layer. But the downside is equally real. If AI becomes central to how Meta runs, it raises questions about job security, workplace pressure, and whether human judgment gets pushed aside in favor of machine-assisted speed. For a company already under pressure from AI-native startups, the message is clear: Zuckerberg wants Meta’s management, not just its products, to be transformed by AI. Wall Street Journal

Minor Headlines

• U.S. Debt Hits $39 Trillion Seekingalpha

• Amazon is planning a smartphone comeback MSN

• Google's Wing to Begin Drone Deliveries in San Francisco Bay Area Market screener

• Synopsis; The next target for Activist Investors Elliot Investments Management Proactive

• Leonid Radvinsky, OnlyFans Founder, Dies At 43 from Cancer Forbes

• Air Canada Flight Crashes At La Guardia Airport NBCnews

• Oil Falls 10% Wall Street Journal

• Chuck Norris Dies at 86 NBCnews