That Vision Thing
Lunch Money doesn't necessarily believe in psychic Deborah Levin's prognostications. Still, predictions she made a year ago for 2002 were largely more accurate than those of most Wall Street strategists

Financial Post - December 28, 2002 - by William Hanley

CREDIT: Chris Bolin, National Post
Deborah Levin, a clairvoyant in Toronto, counsels caution as she peers into 2003: "A 'standstill.' That is the word I get, rather than going up and down. It worries me that everything just stops. It's all about the next three months."

Deborah Levin says she doesn't want to scare people. But this psychic has just been jolted by a vision -- a feeling? -- as she peers into 2003. It's an almost otherworldly moment in our pleasant two-hour lunch -- the second annual Levin Lunch Money -- at Matisse restaurant in the Marriott Hotel just along from Toronto's tony midtown shopping district.

"Everything I'm getting is the first three months -- the first three months," she says, wrestling for the right description as the words come tumbling out and we think of the coming war on Iraq.

"A 'standstill.' That is the word I get, rather than going up and down. It worries me that everything just stops. It's all about the next three months. And people should be very cautious."

We've been chatting ahead of ordering lunch, fortified only by mineral water as Matisse fills up with the pre-Christmas lunch crowd. Levin says food slows down her psychic abilities, rather than fuelling them. So we're covering some names and areas ahead of looking at the menu.

A question about what the future has in store for gold, the store of wealth, has triggered this reaction. "I see a lot of energy, then stop," she says of gold. "But when I'm talking about a standstill, I'm looking at the big picture."

As we reported after last year's lunch at Matisse, we don't necessarily believe in Levin's psychic visions. But we do believe that she believes in the seer's "gift" she discovered as a young child and that now engages her fully as a professional clairvoyant. Anyway, the predictions she made a year ago for 2002 were largely more accurate than those of most Wall Street strategists, whose visions of the future were based on flawed assumptions. Besides, she can use her worldly common sense in tandem with her otherworldly gift.

Levin, among other things, correctly predicted a gain of 2% for the Canadian dollar, outperformance for the Canadian stock market, tame inflation, a rise in oil prices, that Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan had run out of ideas and was at a crossroads, that bank mergers would be back on the table and, interestingly, that Finance Minister Paul Martin could "retire." Less clairvoyantly, she thought that Nortel could be forced to merge and that Greenspan might have a health problems.

Looking forward to 2003, she still sees health problems ahead for the 76-year-old Fed chairman, with something to do with his chest. But he's "stubborn" and will likely stay in the job till 2005, even though "he's not doing much anymore." Elsewhere next year, Levin sees:

- The North American stock market continuing to struggle, "then a weird thing happens in July -- a blip. I don't know whether it's going to go up or down. Then in September, it's very strong. July really makes me nervous." The Dow Jones industrial average will be very volatile, the Nasdaq composite will show no big improvement and the Canadian market will also invite caution in the first three months.

- A stronger Canadian dollar for the next few months, but US70¢ seems unlikely from US64¢ now.

- A much weaker U.S. dollar for the first six months of the year, but it will climb back.

- Stable to climbing house prices.

In the meantime, Levin says, the war on Iraq will begin because President George W. Bush has "made up his mind and that's it. He's not listening to people around him. It's like he's operating in a bubble. It's a very cold feeling I get about him."

While she doesn't want to appear cold-hearted, she says the war will not be as bad as some people fear and will not escalate out of control -- the great geopolitical risk for 2003. Saddam Hussein will not be killed, but will be forced to flee.

While North Korea and its nuclear program will not be involved in hostilities next year, she's worried about them down the road. "I've got a bad feeling about what's going to go on there and the U.S. had better watch out."

Right now, Lunch Money is getting a feeling it's time to look at the Matisse menu and we think we can see what Deborah Levin will order. Last year, she enjoyed the grilled vegetable salad with warm goat cheese followed by the horseradish crusted Atlantic salmon, warm quinoa salad and vegetables. And it's déjà vu all over again. We've already been caught up in the dietary excesses of the season, so two starters -- a lovely grilled lamb loin with sweet potato purée and some pan-seared scallops on grilled asparagus -- will suffice as we face a season seemingly without end.

As Levin looks ahead to 2003, she reflects that 2002 has generally been an interesting one for her. She has launched her own Website -- www.deborahlevinpsychic.com -- and that has drawn some new clients and led to the prospect of a reality-based television series in her future.

At 35, she owns a house and has an RRSP, but she's still not comfortable with money, professing to be a far better spender than a saver. She also likes to give to charities, the arts and generally help people out. She laughs when we point out it's tough to be a philanthropist if you don't have a lot of money.

What Levin has besides her belief in her psychic powers is a belief in common sense in helping people to guide their decisions.

"Overall, people are going to have some very important lessons to learn about life and the Earth," she says, donning both her psychic and sensible hats to assess 2003. "It's going to be quite relevant because of the issue of war. I think people are going to be forced to confront issues that are most important, forced to appreciate the simple things."

It's 2:30 and we're forced to confront the bill in the here and now for a much appreciated lunch at Matisse. The food here looks pretty and is better than pretty good, the service both easy and prompt, the way we like it.

"The food is great," Deborah Levin declares, stopping short of saying it's out of this world.