The Washington Post, referred to by
Kurt Nimmo as the CIA's favorite newspaper (it's a
mockingbird outfit), has
a nice article on the coming financial collapse. As I pay taxes that go in part to the CIA I'll borrow generously from the article and give you this key excerpt:
It is impossible to predict when the magic moment will be reached and everyone finally realizes that the prices being paid for these companies, and the debt taken on to support the acquisitions, are unsustainable. When that happens, it won't be pretty. Across the board, stock prices and company valuations will fall. Banks will announce painful write-offs, some hedge funds will close their doors, and private-equity funds will report disappointing returns. Some companies will be forced into bankruptcy or restructuring.
But the damage won't be limited to Wall Street and its investors. For if we've learned one thing in the past 20 years, it is that what happens on financial markets, in booms and in busts, can have a big impact on the rest of the economy.
Without the billions of dollars flowing each year to financiers and corporate executives, there will be less money to trickle down to car salesmen, yacht makers, real estate agents, third-home builders and busboys at luxury resorts.
Falling stock prices will cause companies to reduce their hiring and capital spending while governments will be forced to raise taxes or reduce services, as revenue from capital gains taxes declines.
And the combination of reduced wealth and higher interest rates will finally cause consumers to pull back on their debt-financed consumption.
Related to the debt bubble is the collapse of the US dollar, which
we've talked about previously. In terms of keeping yourself secure, I would recommend stocking up on food items and investing in precious metals and foreign currencies (although that's not investment advice, so if you lose everything by investing in metals and currencies don't blame me).