George Rebane
I read Peter Schiff's The Real Crash (2013) last year and summarized its main findings found in Chapter 12 of the book. Since I recently attended a conference where Schiff was the keynote speaker and posted on it – A Libertarian Lovefest … – I thought I'd share this little missal with my readers who may just want to cut to the chase. Anyway, I ran across the summary while rummaging around in my files, so here it is.
1. Main thesis – We consume more than we produce. Therefore foreigners produce more than they consume. They are the creditors and have pent up demand since they are living below their means. Such economies will see a surge in demand while ours will languish/shrink. Invest in companies that will benefit from this shift. The US economy will crash.
2. Sectors to invest in
2.1. Raw materials – they will drive more cars and buy more washing machines
2.2. Agriculture – they will eat more meat and complex foods
2.3. Energy
2.4. Manufacturing
2.5. Chemicals
2.6. Infrastructure
2.7. Utilities
2.8. Technology
3. Countries to invest in
3.1. Australia – energy independent, export to Asia, strong banking system
3.2. Singapore – wealthy and high savings, freest economy, large exporter
3.3. Hong Kong – low taxes and regs, big China exports, “corporate Mecca”
3.4. New Zealand – shift from ag to mfg, big exporter to Australia and China (free trade agreement)
3.5. Switzerland – prudent and fiercely independent, home to thriving banks, insurers, pharma, and chemicals, not in Eurozone
3.6. Norway – global markets for its oil, fish, forests, and minerals; not in Eurozone, swinging away from a social welfare state
3.7. Netherlands – third largest ag exporter, has Europe’s largest natural gas field, good place for “euro exposure”
3.8. Canada – growing what the US is shrinking: manufacturing, mining, drilling, extraction, logging. Poised to shift exports from declining US demand to increasing global demand.
3.9. China – “capitalism and democracy are not the same thing”, rocky road ahead but potential for tremendous growth, big US companies moving major operations there.
4. Investment Strategy (“three legged stool”)
4.1. Quality dividend-paying foreign stocks in the right sectors (consider countries, currencies, sectors, individual stocks), Euro Pacific Capital (brokerage company)
4.2. Liquidity and less volatile investments: cash (foreign currencies for liquidity, keep some dollars on hand) and foreign bonds (short maturities, non-dollar denominated, also convertibles), http://www.europacificfunds.com
4.3. Gold and gold mining stocks – Perth Mint Certificate Program, Euro Pacific Precious Metals
5. Global decoupling from US economy is the big fear. Our economic collapse “has barely begun”. Before collapse is complete, “US bonds and the dollar will crash.”


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