This book attempts to summarize how they economy got into such bad shape (something which the author astutely predicted a few years ago). What will happen as a result of the Massive debt the country faces, and what you should do as an investor. These topics are of great interst to me so I was eager to read this book, but unfortunately it was a big disappointment. Specifically:
The Positiives:
1 Star for the author's foresight in calling out the 2008 financial collapse a few years before it happened. If you had listened to him you'd be better off today.
1 Star for the 3rd part on when to invest in the stock market. His review of the historic Price to Dividend Ratio of the S&P 500 and how to allocate between TIPS and Stocks provided interesting perspective for potential buying and selling triggers as well as Asset Allocation preferences.
The Negatives:
1. The author needs to find a new editor, the book was rife with grammar errors, and 3 page mumblings that he calls chapters.
2. Including lots of graphs and charts is no substitute for thorough research. The author likes to make hyperbolic claims with subjective terms like Always, Never, Most, Sometimes etc. but he often fails to substantiate these terms with supporting data.
3. The author is too quick to dismiss the many deflationary tendencies there are in the global economy right now and assumes that we will have rampant inflation in the near future. To be fair this is not just his short coming but in general Economic and Investment books are treating the inflation - deflation debate as a black and white either or question when what we really need is a book that asks what are the inflationary and deflationary forces at work in the global Economy and what scenarios could play out as a result?
On the Deflationary side you have:
Excess Manufacturing capacity globally.
The Deleveraging of a multi-year credit bubble
The Baby boom Generation having passed its peak spending age of 54.
And Globalization and the Internet (which allowed me to by this book for $.99 plush shipping and handling.
On the Inflationary side you have:
Commodity Scarcity if Developing Markets Commodity Hunger outstrips the ability to increase supply
Quantitative Easing by Central Banks around the Globe to stimulate the falling aggregate demand in their home countries.
So what will be the end result of all of this? I do not know but I'm hoping to find the book that treats these matters as interconnected forces, rather than picking a side and ignoring half of them. And then talks about how they could play out, what investors can be on the look out for, and where they should put their money.
For the deflationary argument due to boomer aging, I can recommend Harry Dent the Great Depression Ahead. For the inflation due to Oil Scarcity I can recommend Leeb's The Oil Factor, if anybody has come across a book that has a more holistic look to all of the above I would be grateful if you could provide the recommendation.
Thanks and Regards,
German Uribe