The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide E-Book

Martin D. Weiss

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 364

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

An insightful look at how to protect, save, and grow wealth in difficult economic times Having an effective financial and personal plan for the future is now more crucial than ever. And with the bestselling The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide now in paperback, you'll quickly learn how to create such a plan. This comprehensive guide was especially designed to help people map out a practical financial plan in this unpredictable economic environment, so that they can stop worrying about their money and just enjoy life. Step by step, Martin Weiss-America's Consumer Advocate for Financial Safety-introduces, explains, and helps solve many of the new challenges and risks that face millions of Americans. Throughout the book, Weiss provides you with sound strategies for coping with the credit crunch, housing bust, and decline of the U.S. dollar. * Discusses different ways to adapt to the realities of continuous market volatility * Contains solutions to dealing with sinking real estate or falling stocks * Examines the opportunities you'll have to buy choice assets at bargain prices during a depressed economy The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide also examines important topics that today's investor must be familiar with-including global investing, foreign currencies, and commodities-if they intend to make it through the decade ahead.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Introduction

CHAPTER 1 - WHY A DEPRESSION IS INEVITABLE

UNPRECEDENTED RISKS AND WEAKNESSES

FAILED ATTEMPTS TO END THE DEBT CRISIS

CHAPTER 2 - HOW TO ESCAPE THE HOUSING NIGHTMARE

POWERFUL FORCE 1: DEBT

POWERFUL FORCE 2: INVESTOR MANIA

POWERFUL FORCE 3: GOVERNMENT-BRED MONOPOLIES, CORRUPTION, FRAUD, AND COVER-UPS

POWERFUL FORCE 4: CONSUMER DECEPTIONS

POWERFUL FORCE 5: COLLAPSE!

IMPORTANT LESSONS TO LEARN BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

CHAPTER 3 - SELL YOUR STOCKS—BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

DOES THE STOCK MARKET FALL IN A STRAIGHT LINE?

NOT ALL STOCKS GO DOWN—SO WHY CAN’T WE BUY THE HIDDEN GEMS?

THE STOCK MARKET CAN’T GO DOWN FOREVER—WHEN WILL THE BOTTOM COME THIS TIME?

A YEAR AGO, MY RETIREMENT NEST-EGG HAD PLENTY TO SEE ME THROUGH MY GOLDEN ...

WARNING: DON’T LET YOUR BROKER TALK YOU OUT OF DOING WHAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU

CHAPTER 4 - THE HIDDEN TRAPS OF WALL STREET

RATINGS FIASCO 1: HOW DECEPTIVE RATINGS ENTRAPPED TWO MILLION AMERICANS IN ...

RATINGS FIASCO 2: HOW WALL STREET’S “RESEARCH” DUPED MILLIONS OF INVESTORS—AND ...

RATINGS FIASCO 3: THE GIANT DEBT CRISIS OF THE LATE 2000s

LESSONS TO LEARN AND NEVER FORGET

CHAPTER 5 - HOW SAFE IS YOUR BANK?

DANGEROUS DERIVATIVES

WHAT THE HECK IS A “SYSTEMIC MELTDOWN” ANYHOW? AND WHY IS IT POSSIBLE?

HAVEN’T THEY BAILED OUT ALL THE BIG BANKS? WHY CAN’T THEY CONTINUE DOING IT FOREVER?

CAN A BANKING SHUTDOWN REALLY HAPPEN IN MODERN TIMES?

HOW WOULD A BANKING SHUTDOWN AFFECT ME?

HOW CAN I AVOID THESE HUGE RISKS?

CHAPTER 6 - THE SAFEST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR YOUR MONEY

FOUR ADDITIONAL ADVANTAGES OF TREASURY-ONLY MONEY MARKET FUNDS

WHY ARE TREASURIES SAFER THAN BANK CDS?

AREN’T YOU IGNORING THE GOVERNMENT’S OWN SINKING FINANCES?

HOW MIGHT I CASH IN MY TREASURIES DURING A BANKING SHUTDOWN?

SUPPOSE THE GOVERNMENT DEVALUES THE DOLLAR?

CHAPTER 7 - ALL-WEATHER INVESTMENTS FOR THE BEST AND THE WORST OF TIMES

THE ADVANTAGES (AND PITFALLS) OF EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS

PROTECTION AGAINST STOCK MARKET DECLINES

PROTECTION AGAINST REAL ESTATE DECLINES

CHAPTER 8 - HOW TO PROFIT DIRECTLY FROM THE DECLINE

LARGE PROFIT POTENTIAL WITH INVERSE ETFS

CHAPTER 9 - HOW TO CONTINUE MAKING MONEY EVEN WITH THE WORST DISASTERS

INFLATION VERSUS DEFLATION IN THE CURRENCY MARKET

THE MOST CONVENIENT VEHICLE: CURRENCY ETFS

CHAPTER 10 - WHEN TO BUY THE BEST BARGAINS OF THE CENTURY

HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS OF A BOTTOM IN THE U.S. ECONOMY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS

DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY

CHAPTER 11 - BONDS: YOUR FIRST GREAT INCOME OPPORTUNITY

THE INTEREST-RATE BOOMERANG

THE GREAT BUYING OPPORTUNITY IN HIGHEST-QUALITY LONG-TERM BONDS

CHAPTER 12 - DIVIDENDS: YOUR SECOND GREAT INCOME OPPORTUNITY

THE POWER OF DIVIDENDS

CHAPTER 13 - THE GREAT FORK IN THE ROAD: INFLATION OR DEFLATION?

IN THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS CRISIS, WHICH IS MOST LIKELY TO PREVAIL—DEFLATION OR INFLATION?

WHAT IS YOUR BEST PROTECTION FROM INFLATION?

WHEN WILL BE THE BEST TIME TO BUY MORE GOLD?

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GOLD INVESTING IN THE 1930s AND IN THE 2000s?

WHY CAN’T GOVERNMENTS JUST CREATE INFLATION?

WHAT ABOUT A GLOBAL DEVALUATION OF THE WORLD’S MAJOR CURRENCIES?

WHAT ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF MASSIVE HYPERINFLATION?

CHAPTER 14 - THE TRIUMPH OF THE DOLLAR

THE NEXT GREAT BATTLE

INVESTOR POWER ON WALL STREET

INVESTOR POWER IN WASHINGTON

INVESTOR POWER IN WASHINGTON: A 1980 CASE STUDY

ACTUAL MEETING IN 1980, FICTIONAL DIALOGUE

THE GOVERNMENT’S LAST RESCUE

CHAPTER 15 - THE FOUNDATION FOR RECOVERY

PHASE 1: ACCEPTANCE

PHASE 2: PUBLIC ADMISSION

PHASE 3: ACTION!

TOUGH CONSEQUENCES

CHAPTER 16 - FUTURE FORTUNES

Acknowledgements

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

NOTES

INDEX

Copyright © 2009 by Martin D. Weiss. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.

eISBN : 978-0-470-48613-9

For my wife and son, Elisabeth and Anthony

INTRODUCTION

Never before in your lifetime has your money, your home, your retirement and your entire financial future been in greater danger!

You’ve already witnessed the worst real estate disaster, the largest bank failures, and the biggest losses of wealth since the Great Depression.

You’ve seen America’s most powerful corporate executives forecasting disaster, confessing they’re going bankrupt, and begging Congress for massive bailouts.

You’ve seen our government take gigantic, radical steps to end the crisis, only to be slammed by even larger disasters soon thereafter.

You must recognize it’s high time to do something to protect yourself.

In this book, you will learn how. I give you step-by-step instructions to avoid the dangers, get your money to safety, and secure your family’s financial well-being. I explain what’s likely to happen next, how far real estate and stocks could fall, how long the crisis can last, and how to know when a true recovery is about to begin.

Best of all, I show how to turn this massive crisis into an equally massive opportunity. While most people cringe in fear of real estate declines, you can turn them into unprecedented bargains. While most investors run away from stock market crashes, you can transform them into a profit machine. Instead of the confusion and paralysis that overcomes most Americans, you will have clarity of vision and a solid plan of action. Instead of losing a lot of money, you can grow your wealth significantly.

Surviving—and thriving—during this crisis is not rocket science. You don’t have to forecast the future. You don’t even need investing experience.

The simple secret is to throw out your prejudices, start with a clean slate, and then follow common sense. Right now, that means taking a cold, hard look at the events swirling around you and recognizing that the value of your home, your 401(k), and even some of your supposedly “safe” investments can fall a lot further. You have the power to stop the bloodletting; there’s no law, rule, or ethic that requires you to sit there quietly or accept financial punishment passively. You have easy ways to get your money to safety without delay and without remorse. Plus, you have every right to use the crisis to grow your wealth.

I warned about this very crisis in my 2003 book, Crash Profits, and I have continued to do so in my reports ever since. I have nagged, cajoled, and shouted this message from the rooftops. But it gives me no pleasure to see my warnings come true. I have dreaded this day as often as I have predicted it. I prayed it would not come to pass. But now that it’s here, I have a new prayer:

That you are, or soon will be, out of danger and ready for the worst.

That the worst will strike swiftly and end swiftly.

That, once we hit bottom, no matter how ugly the future may appear, you, we, and many others will have the fortitude to reinvest, help get our country back on its feet, and move on to better times.

Just promise me one thing: No matter how dark this tunnel may seem, never forget it is not the end of the world. Our country has been through worse before, and we survived. We will survive this crisis, too.

But you cannot stand idly by. At this landmark turning point in our history, the choices you make today could determine your fate—and the destiny of everyone that depends on you—for decades to come. Your decisions now could make the difference between a lifetime of struggle and a successful career; becoming a ward of the state or retiring very comfortably; risking poverty-stricken illness or enjoying wealth and health.

Whatever your choices may be, do not procrastinate. And whenever you take action, don’t do so in haste. Your response to the current crisis—or any new crisis that may ensue—should be both prompt and planned, both bold and prudent.

This book is your action plan.

In the first three chapters, I walk you through your first and most urgent priority—how to build the biggest pile of cash possible.

Next, I help you make absolutely certain your cash is in the safest place, and that may not be the nearest bank or the biggest insurance company. I guide you through the hidden landmines—and to the truly safe havens—in Chapters 4 through 6.

Chapter 7 is dedicated to protection. You may have real estate you cannot sell or a pension fund beyond your control. You may have bonds that have no market or a business that continues to provide income. All could be assets that you must keep, and yet, at the same time, all are assets that could be vulnerable to losses in a continuing decline. In this chapter, I give you a simple solution to untie this knotty dilemma.

Chapter 8 guides you to your first major profit opportunity with a plan you can implement immediately to make money directly from the market decline; and Chapter 9 shows you how to continue making money even with the worst disasters.

But your largest payoff of all will come when we hit rock bottom and it’s time to buy the bargains of the century. Recognizing that bottom when it comes can open up the opportunity to greatly boost your income, buy some of the best assets in the world for a pittance, and stake out a high ground for yourself, your children and generations to come. In Chapters 10 through 13, I show you when and how.

Just remember that none of this is predetermined. Right now, the tsunami of crisis seems unstoppable. But in the foreseeable future, there will also come a singular moment in time when the worst of the storm has passed and the tides of history have ebbed, opening a window for you, me, and our leaders to choose our own destiny. Chapters 14 and 15 represent my best effort to define what I think our worst and best choices will be.

Last, as a true, enduring recovery gets under way, it will be time to expand your horizons and look for new opportunities to grow wealth. Right now, it’s too soon to buy. But it’s not too soon to cast a glance into the future and see how some of the world’s largest fortunes are likely to be made, the subject of Chapter 16.

With so much changing so quickly, I promise to keep you up to date at least once weekly via my e-mail alerts. And at critical turning points, especially at the bottom of the real estate market or the end of the stock market decline, these alerts could make the difference between missing the opportunity and jumping in at the right time.

For your free sign-up, visit www.moneyandmarkets.com/guide. Or send your name and e-mail address directly to me at Martin@ weissinc.com. If you do not have e-mail, and would like to receive one of the free reports mentioned in this book, call 800-814-3029. Or mail your request to Martin D. Weiss, c/o Ultimate Depression Survival Guide, 15430 Endeavour Drive, Jupiter, FL 33478.

Good luck and God bless! Martin Weiss Palm Beach Gardens January 5, 2009 [email protected]

CHAPTER 1

WHY A DEPRESSION IS INEVITABLE

America is sinking into its Second Great Depression of modern times. The place is every home, business, and community. The time is now.

America’s Second Great Depression is not a typical twentieth-century recession that happens to hit a bit harder or linger somewhat longer. Nor is it merely a fictional scenario conjured up by gloomy economists with a murky crystal ball.

America’s Second Great Depression is the inevitable consequence of a great housing bust, a massive mortgage meltdown, and the biggest debt crisis in history.

Already, it has brought the largest financial failures and the greatest wealth destruction any citizen under 90 has ever experienced.

Already, it challenges the most brilliant minds in Washington, defies the deepest pockets on Wall Street, and threatens to rip through our lives with the force of a hurricane. And yet, among all those making the decisions that could forever change our future, no one has personal experience with a similar episode.

I don’t either. I was born in 1946, just as we were leaving the final vestiges of America’s First Great Depression behind. I’ve studied that historic period with books, charts, and numbers, but that’s not the same thing. I’ve lived in Brazil and Japan during tough times, but that, too, was different.