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Contagion

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Contagion

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

Wiley,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Text available

What's inside?

A forecast of the world after the financial crisis and how to manage it, from one of the most prescient predictors in finance.

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Well Structured
  • Visionary
  • Background

Recommendation

John R. Talbott is a prescient, provocative financial writer. In this book, he points the finger at those he sees as the real culprits behind the global financial collapse. He relates the U.S. real estate market slump to the broader economic deterioration in American fundamentals. He forecasts a long, hard road to recovery, one that is so difficult, he says, that the U.S. may choose not to take it. That, of course, would be a disastrous decision, but he pessimistically posits that it would be in keeping with the self-centered baby boom generation. In addition to diagnosing a nearly terminal disease of corruption in the American system, Talbott makes some recommendations for investment strategies that getAbstract finds may help individuals cope with challenging times.

Summary

Fooled and Snookered

The current economic crisis is the product of greed, materialism and selfishness ¬– disease-like syndromes that spread on contact. People have lost their moral compass, with lawyers advertising to drum up malpractice suits and medical practitioners focused on profits instead of on healing. Wall Street is a nest of corruption and meretricious deception, but it is not at fault alone. The American government is also corrupt, lying, driven by money and run by hirelings paid by influential lobbyists and corporations. Campaign contributions buy influence – that’s why companies and trade associations make them. Democrats and Republicans are alike. Financial institutions poured money into political campaigns to buy deregulation, but effective free markets need regulation – the rule of law is an important foundation in the way strong markets function.

The recession ending the first decade of the 21st century will be global and long-lived. By the close of 2008, America was only halfway into it. U.S. home prices are in for a permanent decline because banks will never again lend outrageous sums on the terms they extended in the past. The baby boomers’ retirement...

About the Author

John R. Talbott is a best-selling author, a former investment banker for Goldman Sachs and a former visiting scholar at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

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