| Dear Reader, Today is a special day. It’s the first day where you can binge-watch the entire Strategic Investment Conference (if you so choose). No more waiting for your favorites, no more counting the days and hours until a particular session. It’s all here, ready for you to enjoy at your leisure. Though we have one more bonus for you: Our Plus-Day tomorrow, Friday, May 13, with Mauldin Economics and guest analysts revealing their best actionable trade ideas. We suggest you grab a pen, paper, and your SIC 2022 Virtual Pass and be ready to pounce. Our last regular conference day was just as action-packed as the previous ones. Tom Hoenig, former Kansas City Fed head and a staunch champion for more common sense at the FOMC, did not hold back in his critique of the current Fed. In his fireside chat with a fellow Fed insider, Danielle DiMartino Booth, Hoenig said that in 2020, deglobalization was already on the way. “It was convenient that [the Fed] could go into full quantitative easing, well past the start of the recovery. It was one error on top of another, as we don’t learn from our mistakes.” He said, “It’s highly likely we’ll have a recession, and it will be difficult for the Fed to stay the course. If they think they’re under pressure now, two months from now, it will be very difficult for them—and I don’t know that they’ll back down.” In his own talk with Dr. Lacy Hunt of HIMCO—himself a Fed veteran—former chief economist at the Bank of International Settlements, Bill White, stated that “the Fed has underestimated the work that’s cut out for them.” He foresees a deep recession, and “we no longer have the ammunition to deal with it.” We also saw Palantir founder and serial entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale in conversation with John Mauldin and historian Niall Ferguson. Among other things, they discussed social media censorship and the future of technology and AI. Joe predicted that thanks to groundbreaking biotech and AI, healthcare costs could drop in the next 10 years. He was also bullish on stem cell therapies. Both Joe and Niall admitted that they don’t let their own kids spend much time in front of screens. Joe compared tech gadgets and social media platforms to a drug, “like heroin.” He added that “things are breaking in society because we have to censor what we say,” and Niall warned that “Google searches are rigged.” During the SIC’s Final Panel, John Mauldin and several of his best friends discussed the general takeaways from the conference... from biotech to Fed policy, banks, QE, the dollar, and more. Get your Virtual Pass right now to hear the full conversation—and to join us live for Plus-Day tomorrow. Best, Mauldin Economics P.S. This is your last chance to grab your 44% discount for an SIC 2022 Virtual Pass. Don’t miss out—click here to claim yours today. | 