Averi Torres likes to go vacation in Borrego Springs at the end of the year. The high desert winds and open spaces help sharpen her intuitive instincts into what has been for years a knock on clairvoyance’s door. So, from Borrego Springs, Torres offered her annual predictions of what to expect in 2014.
“Last year, I saw a Santa Claus rally coming this year and, sure enough, it happened,” Torres said. “Look at the stock market the past few weeks.”
Torres said the stock market this year will be very “interesting,” with a roller coaster run the first quarter of the year.
“But by the end of the year, everything will be really up,” she said. “Of course, there will be corrections at that time and some people will make a lot of money off those corrections. They know how to buy when something’s down.”
Torres said the business world would see a surge in female entrepreneurs, who will find greater opportunities, jobs, capital and attention. She also predicted Nike, Google and Facebook are stocks to watch.
“Passwords will become obsolete and other forms of identity recognition will become the norm,” Torres said. “Hacking will be a huge challenge this year and the problems with identity theft will create whole new industries to fight it.”
Obamacare will see a lot of “hiccups.”
“There will be a lot of fraud,” Torres said. But there is “an 85 percent chance” that it all leads to a single-payer healthcare system down the road.
Vaccines are being developed right now to combat addictions, and drugs will be customized to a patient’s profile, she predicted.
“I see growth in robotics, which will become more common and available for home use,” she said.
The economy will see strong growth this year, which might slow toward the end of the last quarter.
“Technology will drive that growth,” Torres said. “Start-ups will explode with new ways to transact business on mobile devices. Amazon—now there’s a good stock—will get even bigger.”
The housing market will be powerful, with high demand in Malibu, and the healthcare industry should benefit from new technologies delivering medical benefits to an individual’s specific health profile.
“And the good news is that there will be no government shutdown in 2014 that stops the economy in its tracks,” Torres said.
Internationally, the Middle Eastern conflict will continue to be a problem. Syria will “get worse before it gets better,” and Torres worries about Israel’s vulnerability to Middle Eastern unrest.
But there are bright spots around the world. Torres pointed out that women are finally permitted to drive in Saudi Arabia and the newly appointed Pope Francis has championed the voice of the poor. Persian women will be giving seminars on how to empower themselves. And to what do we owe this global change? The Internet.
“Everyone knows everything in the blink of an eye,” she said. “So we will see greater progress in the plight of poor women, children and even animals this year—there will be global appeals through the Internet that create big results.”
On the energy front, Torres says she sees the U.S. becoming fully self-sufficient in 4 to 10 years, through a combination of renewable and greater oil extraction.
“Unfortunately, I also see more big oil spills,” she said.
The environment will benefit through the actions of watchdogs like Sea Shepherd. Bees, which are seeing an alarming drop in population, will see a resurgence in colonies thanks to pesticide crackdowns.
Popular culture will see broad technological advances.
“Streaming will be the big thing in entertainment and we will see huge diversity on screens,” Torres said. “And in fashion, clothes will be made to measure caloric output during workouts.”
Politically, Torres predicted that Hillary Clinton will announce her candidacy for a 2016 Presidential run, “Though there is no guarantee she will win the primary.”
2014 is a “number seven year,” signifying the chariot in Tarot cards.
Torres said it means “we must not let our passions rule our life. We are not our bodies, but our souls, and a thoughtful flow of cosmic energy will lead to personal success.”
She did have one sobering thought for the New Year.
“There is a high probability of a serious earthquake early in the year,” Torres said. “There will be more seismic activity around the globe in general. So prepare your earthquake kits. I hope I’m wrong on this one.”
As for individual advice, Torres stressed a fine balance between work and personal reflection.
“It’s important to remember that the future is not a destination, but the end result of decisions taken today,” she concluded. “Balancing hard work with meditative reflection is crucial to your success.”