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

by John R. Talbott

Overview

Bestselling author John Talbott outlines the troublesome economic times ahead and what can be done about them

Tough times are here, and author John Talbott-who accurately predicted the dot.com technology stock collapse as well as the recent housing, mortgage, and financial crises-argues that the coming global recession will be unlike anything we've ever seen.

In Contagion, Talbott turns his attention to this crisis and offers insights on what can be done to navigate such treacherous terrain. Talbott sets the stage by discussing how government borrowing and spending on the war, healthcare, Social Security, and corporate giveaways combined with dramatic increases in personal spending, fueled by credit card and mortgage debt, have funded unsustainable levels of personal and government consumption.

• Offers practical suggestions as to how investors and homeowners can best weather this storm with straightforward advice on where to invest
• Examines real estate and housing issues to help you make the best decisions possible in this arena
• Details the best ways to utilize stocks, bonds, TIPS, and commodities, and to prosper during this global crisis
• If you really want to protect yourself from the unfolding economic crisis, then Contagion is the book you need to read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470593677
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	06/01/2010
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

JOHN R. TALBOTT is a bestselling author, a former investment banker for Goldman Sachs, and previously a visiting scholar at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. For the last decade, he has been writing full-time as an author, publishing six books and numerous peer-reviewed academic journal articles on economics and politics. His books include Slave Wages; The Coming Crash in the Housing Market; Where America Went Wrong: And How to Regain Her Democratic Ideals; Sell Now!: The End of the Housing Bubble; and Obamanomics. Talbott has served as an economic advisor to a number of developing countries, including Jordan and Russia. He has appeared live on CNN, Fox News, CNNfn, CNBC, MSNBC, and CBS, and has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle, and Financial Times.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Chapter 1 Bamboozled 1

Chapter 2 What Didn't Cause the U.S. Housing Boom and Bust 11

Chapter 3 What Did Cause the U.S. Housing Boom and Bust 29

Chapter 4 The Contagion Spreads from Subprime to Prime 45

Chapter 5 How Low Will Housing Prices Go in the U.S.? 55

Chapter 6 The U.S. Economy Was Not in Great Shape to Begin With 71

Chapter 7 The United States Enters a Long Recession 87

Chapter 8 The Global Economy Catches the Contagion 103

Chapter 9 Too Big to Fail-The $400 Trillion Derivatives Market 117

Chapter 10 Local Governments Feel the Pinch 131

Chapter 11 From Wall Street to Main Street 141

Chapter 12 Demographics Magnify Contagion 151

Chapter 13 Which Investments and Which Countries Will Weather the Storm the Best? 165

Chapter 14 Stop the Bleeding 181

Chapter 15 No Future without Reform 195

Chapter 16 A Warning Shot Across the Bow 207

References 227

About the Author 245

Index 247