Elon Musk’s plans could hinder Twitternomics

Elon Musk is no fan of the Federal Reserve. At least a dozen times over the past year the owner of X (a firm until recently known as Twitter) has savaged America’s central bank for . Last December, for instance, he tweeted that its hikes might go down as the “most damaging ever”. But Mr Musk’s disdain for the Fed is not mirrored by the Fed’s attitude towards X. On the contrary, the central bank’s researchers rather like the website, treating it as a compelling barometer of the .This puts X in a peculiar position. Its value as a business remains dubious, which is why Mr Musk has been scrambling to remake it, with changes including (but not limited to) the company’s name. But its value to the economy is a different story altogether. The firm can serve as a timely indicator of both fundamental trends and market sentiment.