Contagion: The Financial Epidemic That is Sweeping the Global Economy... and How to Protect Yourself from It

by John R. Talbott

• ISBN13: 9780470466926
• ISBN10: 0470466928
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2009-01-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Tough times are ahead and Talbott argues that the coming recession will be on a global scale, affecting economies across the world. We have had no real growth in GDP for the last ten years if purchases with government and personal debt are excluded. In effect, government borrowing and spending on the war and healthcare and Social Security and corporate give-aways combined with dramatic increases in personal spending funded by credit card and mortgage debt have funded unsustainable levels of personal and government consumption. The world's banks are threatened with insolvency due to bad mortgage loans and will not be making new loans for any purposes for a very long time. Consumption, by definition, has to decline. Our financial markets worldwide are in chaos with the inability of any financial house or big hedge fund going bankrupt without pulling down the whole $400 trillion derivatives market and the global financial markets at the same time. With this as a backdrop, Talbott offers practical suggestions as to how homeowners and investors can best weather the coming storm with specific advice on where to invest by type of investment and geographic location. Stocks, bonds, TIPS, commodities, real estate, housing and currencies will all be examined.

Table of Contents

Preface

Bamboozled

What Didn't Cause the U.S. Housing Boom and Bust

What Did Cause the U.S. Housing Boom and Bust

The Contagion Spreads from Sub-Prime to Prime

How Low Will Housing Prices Go in the U.S.?

The U.S. Economy Was Not in Great Shape to Begin With

U.S. Enters a Long Recession

The Global Economy Catches the Contagion

Too Big to Fail-The $400 Trillion Derivatives Market

Our Local Governments Feel the Pinch

From Wall Street to Main Street

Demographics Magnify Contagion

Which Investments and Which Countries Will Weather the Storm the Best?

Stop the Bleeding

No Future without Reform

A Warning Shot Across Our Bow

References

About the author

Index

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