
Trump Meets Xi. Follow the Money.
Posted September 24, 2026
James Altucher
Trump walked down a red carpet to meet a plane.
It's the first time a president has done that at Joint Base Andrews in 11 years. Presidents usually make visitors come to them.
But Wednesday night, Trump was waiting at the foot of the stairs when Xi Jinping stepped off his jet.
It's Xi's first U.S. state visit in more than a decade.
Everyone wants to know one thing.
Deal or no deal?
I've been in a lot of negotiations. Here's what I learned. Most people know this but they forget it in the excitement: The handshake is the least important part. The important part is what happens to the price after.
Summits end in handholds, photos, a banquet, and a statement that both sides "made progress."
Then the real work starts.
And the clock just got reset. Minutes after Xi's plane touched down, the Treasury Secretary announced the trade truce is extended to January 10.
Two more months. That's a window. Windows are where money gets made.
Look at what's on the table: trade, artificial intelligence, the Iran war and rare earth metals. And the question of whether Chinese carmakers get into the U.S. market.
Every one of those is a sector.
Every sector has a stock that moves first.
I'm watching a handful of them right now. Some already ran up before the summit. Some haven't moved at all. One of them I think the market has completely forgotten about.
I’m not rushing in. Neither should you.
Right now, I’m putting together all of my favorite tickers for Q4.
I’ll tell you which ones I'm watching here in Altucher Confidential on Wednesday. Make sure you check it out.
By then the summit headlines will be old news. The TV pundits will have moved on. And the charts will start telling the truth.
That's when I want to be buying. Before the crowd figures out what happened.
Keep an eye on your inbox.