In the first half of the show, author and investment advisor Catherine Austin Fitts discussed the current state of the economy in terms of the unstable stock market, plunging oil prices, debt, as well as the how the political landscape in this election year relates to fluctuations. An ex-banker from Goldman Sachs that is a new member of the Federal Reserve has suggested that we break up some of the largest US banks to avoid bailouts in the future. She views this as the floating of a trial balloon, and rather than this being a positive sign, "my fear is that it simply doubles up into the pockets of the people who got the last huge round of subsidies." We now have a financial system that's trading entirely on the federal credit, which ends up financing a lot of speculative activities that are bad for the overall economy, she commented.
As far as the stock bounces in 2016, it's a market that's spooked by uncertainty in a "multipolar world" (in which other countries affect the US market), she noted. Remarks by presidential candidate Donald Trump about closing the US borders to Muslims serve to alienate a large percentage of the world population, who may take their money out of the US market and funds, she cited. With oil prices down considerably, there's a real squeeze in the commodities market, Fitts continued. On the energy front, there are tremendous developments in material sciences that are going to radically lower the cost of solar panels and batteries, she enthused.
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Open Lines were featured in the latter half of the show. John from Ontario shared an account of when he was hunting for grouse, and crawling through ferns, when he suddenly heard a rifle being pulled back. Two men were aiming their guns at him, but they appeared to be from the past, dressed in old-fashioned garb. He called out to them and they were suddenly gone. Mark from Baltimore relayed how he had the feeling that the spirits of his deceased cats might be around. One night he put out cat food in a bowl in his home, and when he awoke the next day, a noticeable portion of the food had been eaten.
Chad in British Columbia talked about the night he and his wife saw George's stage show at the Hard Rock Casino in Vancouver. They returned home late, and were walking their dog along a trail when they saw two UFOs flying overhead. "Yeah, I guess that's George and Tom on their way back," he quipped to his wife. A number of callers also spoke about the presidential race, as well as the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia, and whether he died under suspicious circumstances.
News segment guests: Christian Wilde, Steve Kates