Have Russians learned nothing from Grigory Rasputin? Psychic friends are not real friends! But with financial ruin looming for many, fortune-telling has become a respectable profession again, with clients shelling out as much as $137 per reading in hopes of a heads up on exchange rates or catastrophic blunders to come. Any tent in a storm, we guess.

RIA Novosti reports that businessmen, politicians and bankers are all jumping at the chance to have their business (mis)fortunes told. One businesswoman reportedly spends a quarter of her earnings on personal clairvoyants and financial horoscopes, with all the works. And why not? For a mere $687, you can jinx an industry rival! The service used to cost just $275, but crafty soothsayers have raised their rates in the last three months.

It's all very funny until you learn that the craze is not confined to Russia. The story also features "Psychic Natalia," a clairvoyant whose husband works for the New York Stock Exchange and requests an astrological forecast every day. It’s comforting to know our retirement funds are in good hands.

Moscow psychics gain popularity[RIA Novosti]