The Committee to Destroy the World Inside the Plot to Unleash a Super Crash on the Global Economy

by Lewitt, Michael E.

• ISBN13: 9781119183549
• ISBN10: 1119183545
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-03-28
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

An updated examination of what's weakening the U.S. economy, and how to fix it

The Committee to Destroy the World: Inside the Plot to Unleash a Super Crash on the Global Economy is a passionate and informed analysis of the struggling global economy. In this masterfully conceived and executed work, Michael Lewitt, one of Wall Street's most respected market strategists and money managers, updates his groundbreaking examination of the causes of the 2008 crisis and argues that economic and geopolitical conditions are even more unstable today. His analysis arrives in time for the impending economic and geopolitical debates of the 2016 election season. Lewitt explains in detail how debt has now overrun the world's capacity, how federal policies of the past few decades have created a downward vortex sapping growth and vitality from the American economy, and how greed and corruption are preventing reform.

The financial crisis created tens of trillions of debt, leaving investors to pay a huge price for these policy failures:

• The highest asset inflation we've seen in our lifetimes, although the government claims there isn't enough inflation
• More than $2 trillion of stock buybacks funded with low cost debt that are artificially inflating stock prices
• The Federal Reserve and other global central banks becoming the largest buyers of government debt in order to suppress interest rates
• An M&A boom resulting from companies needing to find growth outside of their core businesses

While the financial media misses the story, Lewitt pulls no punches explaining how all of these trends are leading to the brink of another crisis.

Lewitt lays out a survival plan for the average investor to protect their assets when the debt bubble bursts. The first edition of this book expressed hope that policymakers would not let the financial crisis go to waste. This book urges investors to learn from the crushed hope and take action before the next crisis.

Author Biography

Michael E. Lewitt is widely recognized as one of the top credit strategists in the world. He's been a major player in the money management business for more than 25 years, and his Third Friday Total Return Fund ranks among the best in the hedge fund industry. The Financial Times recognized him as one of the few analysts to correctly predict both the credit crisis of 2001-02 and the financial crisis of 2007-08. Since 2001, Michael's The Credit Strategist newsletter has influenced many of the world's leading investors. He also writes Sure Money and contributes to Money Morning.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction The Committee to Destroy the World 1

Chapter 1 The 2008 Crisis—Tragedy or Farce? 57

Chapter 2 The Death of Capital 93

Chapter 3 Capital Ideas 109

Chapter 4 Empty Promises 145

Chapter 5 Financialization 163

Chapter 6 From Innovators to Undertakers 181

Chapter 7 Welcome to Jurassic Park 225

Chapter 8 The Road to Hell 259

Chapter 9 Finance after Armageddon 277

Chapter 10 Unfi nished Business 317

Chapter 11 How to Save Yourself 339

Conclusion “This Is Later” 359

Notes 367

Bibliography and Other Sources 397

About the Author 405

Index 407