Tariffs rescue the shorts

David Llewellyn-Smith

Monday 23 February 2026

I have been recording an increasing bearishness in the market over the past few weeks.

Now it appears the tail risk might be on the other side of the boat, or on both sides. Short interest has rocketed.

It’s in the Sardines too.

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About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.