Financial investment expert Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor for Sitka Pacific Capital Management. In the first half, he discussed the components of our current economy, including inflation, gas prices, home sales, and the stock market, as well as the outlook for the future. He believes we may already be in a recession, especially if we have a poor retail sales report later this week. As to how we got into the current economic dilemma, he believes that the Fed kept the interest rate too low for too long. He also pointed toward COVID policies- the eviction moratoriums were a contributing factor in current rental increases, for example. Mish predicted that the US stock market could continue to fall for another year, and at best, we are only half of the way down.
The Ukraine-Russian war has contributed to the levels of inflation we're experiencing, particularly around gas prices. Shedlock was critical of the US policy of shipping liquid natural gas to Europe when America has its own energy crisis. Sanctions against Russia aren't working, he added, as the increased prices for their gas have ended up funding their invasion of Ukraine. Cryptocurrency prices have been plunging-- he thinks that bitcoin will survive, but many of the other coins will fail or become worthless. The job market has been one of the brighter spots in the economy, he said, and it's unlikely we'll see a repeat of what happened in 2008, though some technology companies are laying people off.
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Psychic medium and NLP practitioner Walter Zajac has spent decades studying the works of the world's great teachers of spirituality, and the Law of Attraction. In the latter half, he talked about his unusual life and path to discovering his psychic gifts. His novel, They Came - Beyond Deja Vu is centered around a character who had imaginary childhood friends that actually become real women in his later life, and it's based on his own story. At age six, when Zajac's mother was dying, he was sent to live at an orphanage without being told what was happening. In his devastation and abandonment, he turned toward imaginary friends that became his refuge.
One of the imaginary friends was named Maria, and he saw details of a serious accident she was in and traveled with her to the Other Side in a kind of shared near-death experience. When he was 44, he met Maria in real life and was able to tell her exact details of her accident, and five things she had never told another soul. Curiously, his earlier interactions with "imaginary friend" Maria occurred fifteen years before she was born. After working as a professional musician, he eventually discovered his ability as a psychic, and learned to help "empower" people with their life choices. During the last hour, he offered readings for callers.
News segment guests: Lauren Weinstein, Steve Kates