In the first half, investment banker James Rickards discussed why he believes the coming collapse of the dollar and the international monetary system is entirely foreseeable, and what we can do to protect ourselves. It's possible to build a portfolio that can survive and thrive in both inflationary and deflationary periods, he said. For instance, for inflation protection-- invest in gold, silver, property, natural resources, and for deflation-- treasury notes (the safest investment around, he stated). Rickards also advised keeping about 30% of your assets in cash, even though he predicts the demise of the dollar. "Cash is the opposite of leverage," he explained, and "reduces the volatility of a portfolio." If you have the resources, he recommended the "monster box" which contains 500 one-ounce Silver Eagle coins and is produced by the U.S. Mint.
Rickards believes that the 2008 economic crash never really ended as the factors behind it weren't fixed-- interest rates are not back to normal, and the debt level was never reduced to what it was before the bailout. As the huge Deutsche Bank struggles, rather than a bailout, he sees a possible bail-in, where creditors and depositors take a loss on their holdings. Rickards is not bullish on cryptocurrency-- with Bitcoin, he noted, the technology is rife with hackers, its built-in limitation of coins defies economic growth, and the "mining" of it is increasingly costly in terms of electrical power usage.
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Chief investigative reporter for WSMV-TV in Nashville, Jeremy Finley's reporting has resulted in some of the highest honors in journalism. In the latter half, he talked about UFO research, and his two novels which riff on elements of the alien abduction mystery. The first book, he recounted, tells the story of the abduction of a US Senator's grandson, and how his grandmother returns to her roots as a UFO researcher in order to find him. The sequel takes place 15-years later, when the government and true believers realize that the abductions have not happened by chance, and a larger and darker threat is looming.
The character of the grandmother, he revealed, was inspired by his own mother-in-law who worked as a secretary for the pioneering ufologist and professor J. Allen Hynek. Finley spoke about his research into MUFON files and various aspects of the UFO abduction experience such as missing time (having no recollection of being taken). Though he completely differentiates his work as a journalist from his fiction writing, Finley considers the alien/UFO question to be one of the great mysteries of our time, and advocated keeping an open mind. "Don't dismiss someone...[as] crazy," he remarked, "just because they've had an experience they can't explain."
News segment guests: Dr. John Curtis, Steve Kates