<p>By the early 90s, a raging bull market was delivering spectacular returns, causing some to believe that a market collapse and subsequent depression would soon appear. As a result of these fears, some exited the capital markets altogether. Thereafter, the Internet took off causing the market bubble to swell, many high-tech stocks with seemingly limitless valuations. Over the course of its 13-year stretch, the market appreciated by over 600 percent, with average annual returns in excess of 18 percent. And we all remember what happened at the start of the new millennium. Even after the deflation of the Internet bubble, cautious investors who pulled out of the market a decade earlier missed out on spectacular returns since then. Many investors who entered the market near its peak suffered devastating losses. But most who remained invested since the early 90s are still much better off today. While this correction revealed the most recent illusions embedded within the economy, it s only a small part of what will be a larger correction in the coming years. Despite the scandals in corporate America and Wall Street, many investors fail to recognize that the post-bubble period is quite different from the Bull Run in the 90s. But today, the capital markets have been realigned with authenticity, and economics now control the investment cycle rather than hype generated by Wall Street. Accordingly, Wall Street and the U.S. Government can only hide the realities of America s decline for so long. Unfortunately, America entered the free trade paradigm as a losing participant from the start. While America remains as the centerpiece for the global economy, it relies on record debt to maintain its status as the world s strongest consumer marketplace. But this cannot last much longer. America s vulnerable role in the new economy threatens to erode the strength of its empire. Already, America has witnessed a gradual disappearance of its core citizens; the middle class. As well, poverty continues to grow while America s wealthiest quintile increases their wealth. These trends have been masked by record levels of credit-based spending and manipulation of economic data. For over two decades, several nations have benefited at the expense of America s job base and living standards. This led to a long period of excessive consumption relative to productivity. When the economic boom from the post-war period began to lose steam in the 60s, consumption began to exceed productivity, as Americans refused to acknowledge a decline in living standards. Up until the 70s, America fueled this consumption-production disparity using the surplus wealth generated during the post-war boom. During the 80s, America s growing consumption was compounded by massive government spending and a devastating oil crisis. Shortly thereafter, the consumer credit industry grew to meet the demands of a nation experiencing large productivity deficits. And today, America is vastly different than the post-war period. Rather than increases in net wealth, America s growth over the past two decades has been fueled by credit spending which has created the illusion of impressive productivity, while serving to mask declining living standards. As a consequence of these changes, America s financial industry is now one of its biggest and most profitable. Today, America is more dependent on foreign nations than anytime in its history. Declining oil reserves and a foreign-funded credit bubble have positioned the fate of this nation in the hands of the world. Soon, America will face the economic burden of 76 million aging boomers. Beginning in 2011, mandatory expenditures for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will start to grow rapidly. By 2025, these expenses will have swelled to unthinkable levels.</p>

America's Financial Apocalypse: How to Profit from the Next Great Depression

Business & Money

Stathis

Investing

Apex Venture Advisors

<p>For more than two decades, numerous experts have predicted a major depression in America. Many of these forecasts were written in the early 90s as an aftershock of the 87 Crash. While most ignored these warnings, cautious investors withdrew from the capital markets. But the expected turmoil never appeared, at least not for over a decade. In the mid-90s, the Internet was released. Soon, hundreds of companies sought to harness this new technology. By 1999, the Internet stock bubble had swollen beyond belief, and everyone wanted a piece of the action. And we all remember what happened at the start of the new millennium. While this correction revealed the most recent illusions embedded within the economy, it s only a prelude of what to expect in the coming years. Today, economics control the investment cycle rather than hype generated by Wall Street. Accordingly, Washington can only hide the realities of America s decline for so long before the truth is revealed. Currently, we are in the middle stages of a secular bear market that began in 2001. Upon examination of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1900, it is clear that the stock market must correct downward in order to compensate for the spectacular appreciation of the 90s; a period fueled by excess consumption. Today we see that competitive forces from abroad are much more influential than in the past. In the mid-1990s, President Clinton signed off on NAFTA and the World Trade Organization, promising free trade would deliver better jobs and higher wages for all. But for the majority of Americans, the opposite has occurred. America entered the free trade paradigm as a losing participant from the start since all other nations place the burden of healthcare and pension costs with the government. While it still remains as the centerpiece for the global economy, America now relies on record debt to maintain its status as the world s strongest consumer marketplace. This has created the illusion of impressive productivity, while serving to mask declining living standards for the majority. As corporate America continues to achieve record profitability, these gains have come at the expense of its core citizens; the middle class. As a result of these trends, the United States is now more dependent upon foreign nations than anytime in its history. Declining oil reserves and a foreign-funded credit bubble have positioned its fate in the hands of the world. And its vulnerable role in the New Economy threatens to erode its empire status. Already, the effects of America s decline have registered. Declining competitiveness and reliance on foreign debt can be seen by noting the weakness of the dollar. As foreign nations lose interest in financing Washington s deficits, interest rates will soar. Soon, America will face the economic burden of 76 million aging boomers. Beginning in 2011, expenditures for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will start to grow rapidly. During this same period it is likely that peak oil will have been reached; this alone promises to cause worldwide devastation. In summary, I have presented what I feel to be a strong case for America s declining economic position and weakened competitive landscape by addressing the major issues at hand the trade imbalance and federal debt, free trade, healthcare, Social Security, pensions, the real estate bubble, the war in Iraq, tensions in the Middle East, the global oil shortage, and the effect baby boomers will have as they enter what they expect to be their Golden Years. See why Stathis has been censored by the media. They don t want you to know the truth.</p>

America's Financial Apocalypse: How to Profit from the Next Great Depression (Condensed Edition)

Economics

AVA Publishing

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