Financial Sense Newshour

Jim welcomes Pamela Popper PhD, N.D. who appeared in the recent film “Forks Over Knives” and is one of the co-authors of the companion book, which reached the New York Times bestseller list. Despite the most advanced medical technology in the world, we are sicker than ever by nearly every measure. Forks Over Knives examines the claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The film looks at groundbreaking studies that conclude that our animal-based diet is primarily responsible for America’s three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Despite the profound implications of their findings, the work by Dr. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn has remained relatively unknown to the public.

Jim welcomes energy expert Bill Powers back to the program. Bill notes that energy stocks are now getting a bid, and he and Jim discuss the significance of Freeport McMoRan getting back into the oil business. They also discuss the risks of extrapolating energy discoveries into the future, as many recent shale oil plays are already peaking. They also look at Daniel Yergin’s “Undulating Plateau” and how it may be taking place now, instead of decades from now.

Jim welcomes back noted technician Charles Nenner this week. Charles sees a new stock market high into late April or early May. He also sees the economy picking up until the end of the year, but risk is also rising as well. Charles sees late April as a high risk period for the markets in terms of a correction. He is also very bearish on bond funds, and urges investors to get out of them as soon as possible. Charles is also out of gold in the short term, as he sees a rally in the US dollar ahead. Also in this segment, Ryan Puplava wraps up this week in the markets, Erik Townsend covers commodities, and Rob Bernard has the Fixed Income Report.

Jim discusses two more Big Picture topics in this segment. In the first, “The Confidence Game”, Jim looks at the way central banks manage economies and control expectations of inflation. The next topic, “Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham- That was then, this is now”, refers to Benjamin Graham’s famous book “Security Analysis” written in 1934 with David Dodd. Graham talks about building a “margin of safety” when buying stocks. Jim looks at the similarities and differences from the 1930’s to the realities of today, and sees that a big cushion of safety is still very important.