US stocks have soared to unsustainable highs and could crash 26% within months, Morgan Stanley's top strategist has warned. In an analyst note the bank's chief US equity strategist, Mike Wilson, said that the current level of stock valuations could be compared to the “death zone,” a term in mountaineering describing an altitude so high that climbers do not have enough oxygen to breathe. “Many fatalities in high-altitude mountaineering have been caused by the death zone, either directly through loss of vital functions, or indirectly by wrong decisions made under stress or physical weakening that lead to accidents,” Wilson wrote. “This is a perfect analogy for where equity investors find themselves today, and quite frankly, where they've been many times over the past decade,” he added.
The metaphor indicates the excessive levels that stock prices have climbed to since the start of this year. Wilson suggested the S&P 500 could tumble to 3,000 points within months, down about 26% from current levels, saying that “it’s time to head back to base camp before the next guide down in earnings.” The grim forecast follows what many analysts have called the worst year for the stock market since the 2008 financial crisis. All three indexes tumbled in 2022 with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the year down 8.8% while the S&P 500 sank 19.4% and the Nasdaq Composite plunged 33.1%. “The bear market rally that began in October from reasonable prices and low expectations has morphed into a speculative frenzy based on a Fed pause/pivot that isn't coming,” Wilson’s latest note said. The strategist has repeatedly warned that the market rally won’t last as he expects inflation to prove stickier than many other economists forecast, forcing the US Federal Reserve to hike rates in order to bring soaring prices under control.
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Almost exactly one year after rumors of the John Mayer-favored overdrive pedal's revival emerged, a gear collector named Luca has returned to further fuel speculation. But this time, he's got pictures and packaging to prove it.Nearly one year ago to this day, Marshall was forced to deny the existence (opens in new tab) of a seemingly imminent reissue of its cult classic Blues Breaker overdrive pedal, after mysterious listings for the stompbox appeared on dealer websites.
At the time, it looked as though the return of the Blues Breaker was inevitable, with elusive pedal collector and guitarist by the name of Luca further fueling speculation with an Instagram post that read, “You will not believe what Marshall is bringing back to life.” And, though listings appeared on sites such as Thomann back then, Marshall dashed fans’ hopes by saying, “It’s not official and isn’t true.” The Marshall Blues Breaker pedal is one of the most iconic overdrive pedals in guitar history, and was originally based on the 1962 amp model of the same name, used by the likes of Eric Clapton. The Mark 1 pedal, released in 1991, gained popularity years later, and was notably used by John Mayer on 2008’s Continuum. Originals are still on the market, so they’re not totally elusive, though their eye-watering asking prices can price many pedal fans out of a purchase – early examples can be found on Reverb for more than $1,000. However, it looks like there is hope for casual Blues Breaker fans once again, if Luca’s latest development is to be believed. “As I anticipated exactly one year ago, the Marshall Blues Breaker is finally back,” Luca wrote in a recent post, “and you’ll be able to preorder it elsewhere very soon.” In subsequent posts, Luca then shared an image of what looked like official Marshall packaging for a Vintage Reissue Blues Breaker, and – just in case anyone still doubted it – a handful of pictures of the pedal itself. China has released its Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, which focuses on preventing conflicts and promoting global security, while blasting the use of sanctions in foreign policy. The initiative, which was unveiled by the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, hinges on several core concepts and principles meant to help both China and the international community navigate in what the document describes as an “era rife with challenges.”
It prioritizes UN-centred security governance, stating that “the Cold War mentality, unilateralism, bloc confrontation and hegemonism contradict the spirit of the UN Charter and must be resisted and rejected.” Countries should also uphold the consensus that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” the initiative reads, adding that the nuclear powers should strengthen dialogue and cooperation to mitigate the risk of a nuclear stand-off. The document went on to stress the need to take the “legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously,” while respecting their sovereignty and territorial integrity. The program paper also made an appeal to resolve international disputes exclusively through diplomacy. “War and sanctions are no fundamental solution to disputes; only dialogue and consultation are effective in resolving differences,” it said, adding: “abusing unilateral sanctions… does not solve a problem, but only creates more difficulties and complications.” Addressing the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, the paper highlighted the need to “support political settlement of hotspot issues such as the Ukraine crisis through dialogue and negotiation.” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said the initiative strives to establish a human community with a shared future, and that it “is open and inclusive” for any nation to join. The idea of the initiative was first put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in April 2022 as a means to “uphold the principle of indivisible security” in the world. This comes one day after China released a report titled ‘US Hegemony and its Perils’, blasting Washington for escalating the great power competition across the globe, staging ‘color revolutions’, and stoking regional tensions under the guise of promoting democracy. While it's become normal to see boutique effects pedals at $200+, there's still plenty of bargains to be found. But what about the ones from mainstream brands that might not be getting their dues? Fender's The Pelt fuzz pedal could be a prime contender.
While Fender's pedal line doesn't get the tone hounds frothing like some others, it's been a dependable source of quality since the company joined the effects fray in 2018. The Pelt followed in the second wave of releases for that year and impressed us in out review. So it's not underrated by us by any means, but we don't sense it's got the love it deserves. A silicon fuzz pedal for modernists less bothered by the a hallowed land of Germanium, we were especially taken with the versatility afforded by the Blend control. Combined with a great range of drive it would make an ideal first fuzz for newcomers or those yet to be convinced. And it turns out Chris Buck is a fan of The Pelt too. While he's not averse to waxing lyrical about '59 Bursts, Chris is no snob as his recent championing of the Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster proves. Following a blazing demo with it, Chris explains his admiration for The Pelt below: "It's been with me pretty much everywhere; live shows, sessions, innumerable YouTube videos. Even all over the Cardinal Black album," says Chris. Which came as news to us because it wasn't on his pedalboard when we took a look last year, but it turns out it's a bit of a secret weapon for him. And although Fender sent him the pedal five years ago, Chris stresses in the video above that it's not a sponsored affiliation in any way. He's also a big fan of that Bloom control. It essentially affects how aggressive the fuzz sounds," summarises Chris. "When you turn it back to the left you're definitely in closer territory to, say, a vintage Fuzz Face. But by bringing it forwards it gives you that more aggressive, modern, spluttery, kind of Velcro-ripping sound. Which for me at least is where the Pelt comes into its own." Chris points to The Pelt's more aggressive side as being able to summon some of the Fuzzlord Scott Holiday's tones in Rival Sons. As Chris ably demonstrates with a touch of slapback echo. "The Pelt is also one of the few fuzz pedals I've tried where you can have some degree of confidence in running it into a clean amp in isolation and it not sounding like a bag of spanners," adds Chris. So one for the fuzz sceptics. And with the mid cut and mid push controls alongside the low end control of the Thick switch and Tone dial gives you a lot of options beyond many other fuzz pedals. Led Zeppelin took stock of their phenomenal fame with Houses of the Holy, with deep contributions from each member of the rock quartet. This fifth album was released in 1973, nearly a full year after it was recorded in the Spring of 1972 at Stargroves, an English country estate owned by Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones. The major reason for the album’s delay was trouble with designing and printing the unique album cover by the artistic company Hipgnosis, with the band completely rejecting the initial artwork and the first prints of the final artwork accidentally coming out with a strong purple tint. When they finally got the artwork correct, the album was banned from sale in many locations because of the naked children on the cover who pay homage to the Arthur C. Clarke novel Childhood’s End.
Produced by guitarist Jimmy Page (like all Zeppelin albums), the album featured sophisticated layered guitars, the addition of obscure instrumentation, and other rich production techniques. Beyond the Stargroves recordings, the album contains recordings from Headley Grange (site of recordings of their previous album Led Zeppelin IV) with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, along with Olympic Studios in London and Electric Lady Studios in New York. There were also several recorded songs not included on Houses of the Holy but released on later albums such as Physical Graffiti and Coda. The album featured styles and sub-genres not heard on previous Led Zeppelin albums, such as funk, reggae, and doo-wop. The album is an indirect tribute to their fan base, who were showing up in record numbers to their live shows. It perfectly straddles the band’s early, more blues-based period from their later work, which consisted of more richly produced studio albums that tilted more towards pop and modern rock. Bass player and keyboardist John Paul Jones temporarily left the band for a few days during this album’s recording but soon returned and stayed with the band until the end. The fact that this album features different sounds is evident right from the top with “The Song Remains the Same”. This song is odd on several fronts, from the pitch-effect vocals of Robert Plant to the extremely bright multi-tracked guitars of Page. Still, the song is great and is set up as a sort of journey, not a rotation. The song is a jam that feels loose yet does not get lost for one second, due mainly to the steady and strong drumming of John Bonham. The song was originally an instrumental which was given the working title “The Overture”, before Plant added lyrics and the title to it. It was originally going to be an intro for “The Rain Song”, and these songs were often coupled together in concert. “The Rain Song” Is an extended piece with eloquent acoustic and electric guitars weaved together. The song also features a long mellotron section (some would say too long) played by Jones, adding a surreal orchestral effect above Page’s guitar before returned to the climatic final verses and soft and excellent guitar outtro. Parts of “Over the Hills and Far Away” written by Page and Plant during the 1970 sessions at the Welsh cottage Bron-Yr-Aur for the album Led Zeppelin III. The song is mostly acoustic throughout but works into a harder rock section during the middle, making it one of the most dynamic Led Zeppelin songs ever. Jones and Bonham add a tight rhythm to Page and Plant’s etheral dynamics. The song was released as a US single, but failed to reach the “Top 40”, faring much better on classic rock radio through the decades. “The Crunge” is a funk tribute to Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and James Brown and evolved out of a jam session built around Bonham’s off-beat drums and a bass riff by Jones. This song features an overdubbed VCS3 synthesizer to replicated the funk “horn” section, which gives it a totally unique sound of its own. During the jam Plant calls for a “bridge” (imitating Brown’s habit of shouting instructions to his band during live recordings). When no such section materializes, the song (and first side) uniquely ends with the spoken “Where’s that Confounded Bridge?” The closest Led Zeppelin ever came to writing a pure pop song, “Dancing Days” was actually inspired by an Indian tune that Page and Plant heard while traveling in Mumbai. The guitar overdubs are simply masterful in this upbeat song about summer nights and young love. It was played live as early as November 1971 and, although not officially released as a single, it received heavy radio play in the UK. “D’Yer Ma’ker” was released as a single and became the band’s final Top 40 hit (although they didn’t have many of those). The song has a unique sound with Bonham’s exaggerated drum pounding backing a reggae-inspired riff by Page and Jones and Plant’s bubblegum pop vocals. The distinctive drum sound was created by placing three microphones a good distance away from Bonham’s drums, giving him much natural reverb to make the banging sound more majestic. The name of the song is derived from an old joke about Jamaica, and was often mispronounced as “Dire Maker” by those not privy to the joke. John Paul Jones centrepiece “No Quarter” provides a great contrast with a much darker piece about viking conquest, with the title derived from the military practice of showing no mercy to a vanquished opponent. The song features a distinct, heavily treated electric piano throughout with an acoustic piano solo by Jones in the long mid-section. Page doubles up with electric guitars and a theremin for effect, while Plant’s voice is deep and distorted. The album concludes with the upbeat rocker “The Ocean”, which refers to the “sea of fans” at the band’s concerts. Launching from a voice intro by Bonham, the song returns to the heavy riff-driven anthems that were popular on their earlier albums. But this song does contain its own unique parts, including an overdubbed vocal chorus, performed a Capella, by Plant in the middle and a doo-wop outro section that contains a boogie bass with strong guitar overdubs, bringing the album to a climatic end. Houses of the Holy has been certified eleven times platinum and is often included on “greatest albums” lists. It is an odd but brilliant album by Led Zeppelin which finds a balance uncommon by hard rock bands of any era. Prepare to journey into the clouds and beyond pedal aficionados, everybody's favourite pedal pioneers are back with another mind altering ambient reverb! You’ve guessed it, we could only be referring to the collective genius of the team over at Strymon who have returned with the release of the incredible Cloudburst Ambient Reverb.Strymon has a reputation for pushing the boundaries of modern effects manipulation, offering a selection of pedals with a depth of features, unrivalled functionality, and user intuitive customisation options that few can compete with. Let’s be honest, if you haven’t already jumped on the bandwagon and committed a Strymon pedal to pride of place on your pedalboard, you probably want to! Whether it’s the holy trinity of the Timeline, Big Sky and Mobius or one of the myriad of ground breaking smaller footprint pedals such as the El Capistan, Flint or Compadre, you just can’t seem to escape the lure of Strymon pedals these days. A staple of the working player, they are the bar by which other pedal brands are measured by. The brand new Cloudburst continues this legacy of striving to conquer new tonal plains. The first thing that you’ll notice is a more compact, single switch housing. You could be led to believe that a smaller footprint might mean that the Cloudburst isn’t as feature rich as some of its more established siblings, well, you’d be wrong! Despite Strymon’s intention to create the most user intuitive and easy to use pedal in their arsenal, they have not compromised on functionality or features, in fact they have managed to pack more into this compact little box of tricks then we’ve ever seen before!
Adding harmonically rich textures to your signal, the ensemble can either be used sparingly, giving another dimension to your soundscape, or applied generously for an incredible string swell underneath your playing. It’s organic, musical and totally responsive to your playing. It’s full, deep and can be applied in a variety of ways.
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