Must follow Twitter feeds on markets and the economy

Twitter – a dynamic source of news and opinions on current events

Twitter has surely come a long way since it was first launched in 2006. It has gained ground as a useful and prominent thread within the social media ecosystem not only for the professionals looking to make connections but also for individuals, corporations, and groups from the political and academic spectrum. There is no denying that Twitter is especially a unique platform when it comes to the immediacy of communication. In fact, even world leaders use Twitter to capture the minds and hearts of their followers. Former President Barack Obama is still the most followed world leader with almost 130 million followers, followed by Pope Francis and current US President Joe Biden, with 18.8 million and 13.2 million followers respectively (source: Twitter, August 2021).

On top of that, we have seen the emergence of finance and economy tweets with economists and investment companies releasing major news, updates, and insights about where they think the economy is headed. Who could forget about Donald Trump posting about the China trade war, Fed, oil prices, sanctions, and many more that sometimes caused unforeseen jumps in the markets? Or how Elon Musk’s tweet about Tesla potentially allowing Bitcoin transactions sent the digital currency nearly surging 10% and then another tweet saying he’s fallen out of love with Bitcoin caused it to plummet and affected other cryptocurrencies beyond BTC. After the implementation of some new rules, Twitter has made it harder for these types of messages to spread in order to keep the tweets from becoming algorithmically elevated. Twitters’ new rule targets verified users with more than 100,000 followers who are government officials or running for public office, marking a shift in Twitter’s response to how it handles tweets from world leaders.

10 must follow Twitter accounts

This brings me to my favorite list of Twitter accounts that I make a habit of reading before I start my day. The curated list here reflects my own preferences/interests. I have narrowed down the list to 10 essentials that I believe could also be informative, engaging, insightful, and entertaining for you; all tried-and-true in the past years.

1. Zero hedge

@zerohedge: Rising to fame following the 2008 financial crisis, Zerohedge to its fans is a top-notch financial blogger and aggregator of financial news, but to its critics, it is a controversial account that spreads conspiracy theories mostly authored by Tyler Durden. He is a fictional, nihilistic protagonist of the film Fight Club, hence Zerohedge’s website/Twitter account’s branding featuring Brad Pitt’s shirtless image. For me one of Zero Hedge’s main appeals is that they want to “widen the scope of financial, economic and political information available to the professional investing public.”. Unlike WSJ or Bloomberg, its content is free and instantly accessible for all without the trial versions and subscription inquiries. While Zero Hedge’s mission is to increase the public’s awareness of financial, economic, and political issues, they also educate readers in an effort to help them make informed decisions. However, as this is not the place to get tips for investments, I would advise using reader discretion.

2. Charlie Bilello

@charliebilello: Charlie is the Founder and CEO of Compound Capital Advisors. His chart-heavy and market stat tweets are regularly among the top-performing finance tweets and if you are seeking objective, faster and reliable research about the markets this is the account to follow.

3. Mohammed El-Erian

@elerianm: With 402K followers, Mohammed, in his intro describes himself as President, Queens’ College, Cambridge University, Advisor to Allianz and Gramercy, Wharton Professor, Lauder Institute Senior Fellow, Bloomberg, and FT columnist. He is the author of the New York best sellers, “The Only Game in Town” and “When Markets Collide”. Whether you agree or disagree with his thoughts, his unique gift for clarity and the use of compelling examples make important and complex economic issues accessible to everyone through his tweets. When he’s not tweeting about the markets, he also weighs in on a variety of other topics, including his beloved New York Jets.

4. Yardeni Research

@yardeni: This is easily my favorite Twitter account to follow for a daily dose of unbiased and research-driven statistics covering a broad range of markets and the analysis of economic fields. Dr. Yardeni, who is the President and Chief Investment Strategist of Yardeni Research, offers an extensive resource that provides short excerpts from the research service of his company. This is a truly valuable and free tool for beginners, students, and professionals alike that you won’t want to miss.

5. Goldman Sachs

@GoldmanSachs: The investment banking giant finally opened up to Twitter in 2011 and they’re fairly good at it. They tweet out insightful outlooks and snippets of research from their Chief Strategists on anything from monetary policies and inflation to Asian credit strategies and global EV markets while they take some funny swipes at certain news publications.

6. St Louis Fed

@stlouisfed: Far and away the best Tweeter of all the Feds. This is the account for anyone who wants to follow the macro indicators and FRED charts like a hawk. The tweets are insightful, thought-provoking, and occasionally humorous.

7. Robin Brooks

@RobinBrooksIIF: Robin Brooks is the Chief Economist at IIF (Institute of International Finance) and previously the Chief FX Strategist at Goldman Sachs. As you would expect, he tweets about the markets and the economy and also shares smart insights succinctly about emerging markets and currencies.

8. Jeffrey Gundlach

@TruthGundlach: Gundlach is the Founder of DoubleLine. In 2011, he appeared on the cover of Barron’s as “The New Bond King”. In 2013, Institutional Investor named him “Money Manager of the Year”. With 183,500 followers, his tweets keep you on top of the bond markets. Between posts about U.S. Treasuries, he’ll give you bite-sized insights into what foreign yields and the Fed are doing too. His posts are sporadic, but when he does tweet, he is straight to the point. He also talks about his beloved Buffalo Bills in a rather casual and informal tone.

9. Christine Lagarde

@Lagarde: As we all know, Lagarde is a French politician, economist, and lawyer serving as President of the European Central Bank, since 1 November 2019. In the Twitter account she manages with her team, she tweets (occasionally in her mother tongue, French) about anything relating to ECB, Eurozone, live conferences, G-20 meetings, climate change efforts, and the list goes on and on. A must-follow for those who want to stay on top of the European economy. On Twitter and beyond, she helps women take charge by encouraging and empowering female leadership, be it through equal pay or gender equality.

10. Steve Hanke

@steve_hanke: Steve H. Hanke is an applied economist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is also a Senior Fellow and Director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, DC. Over four decades Hanke has advised dozens of world leaders from Ronald Reagan to Indonesia’s Suharto on currency reforms, infrastructure development, privatization, and how to tame hyperinflation. He shares his views on the current economic affairs on Twitter whilst aiding traders in FX and commodities. He tweets about world stock markets. He talks about various commodities in the stock market and the reason their values go up or down. He captured my heart and attention when he started tweeting Ataturk’s quotes about science and sovereignty and I have been a big fan ever since.

With over 180 million accounts on Twitter, there are at least a dozen that will reflect your interests, however, the trouble is finding them all at once. That said, I would consider myself lucky if this list could be of any guidance to you, whether it is to get breaking news, timely expert insights, or to keep an eye on the ebbs and flows of the financial markets. Once you start following these accounts, you will begin to see recommendations for other users with similar content which should help you more. Now go find somebody to follow, you never know who you might discover!