US heading for Depression?
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
Bailouts Will Push US into Depression: Manager
BANKS, FINANCIAL SERVICES, NORTH AMERICA, POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, ECONOMY, INFLATION, CURRENCIES, DOLLAR, FREDDIE MAC, FANNIE MAE, MORTGAGES, DEBT, CREDIT
By CNBC.com
CNBC.com
| 11 Sep 2008 | 09:11 AM ET
The end result of the global economic slowdown may be the U.S. announcing national bankruptcy as the government cannot afford the bailouts that it promised and the market will not bail out the government, Martin Hennecke, senior manager of private clients at Tyche, told CNBC on Thursday.
“We expect a depression in the United States. We expect a depression, very possibly, also in Europe,” Hennecke said on “Worldwide Exchange.”
The estimated $300 billion cost of the Fannie/Freddie bailout will probably be considered as a loss that the government will have to take, therefore passing it on to taxpayers, he explained.
“We already have $3 trillion of debt, as far as the U.S. government is concerned. These debt figures across the U.S. economy are rising very sharply.”
When the government can no longer pass the United States’ “immense debt” on to taxpayers, it will turn to the holders of U.S. dollars, leading to the eventual downfall of the currency, Hennecke said.
“Definitely, it (the dollar) is not a safe place to be invested in, as real inflation is closer to 10 or 11 percent than the actual inflation numbers given by the U.S. government,” Hennecke said on “Worldwide Exchange”.
Investors should avoid exposure to debt and stay away from leveraging on any investment or asset, including property, Hennecke advised, adding that “banks have been too highly leveraged in the past, private households, everybody.”
Hennecke’s stock allocations are mainly Asian-based, especially in the Chinese market as the country’s government has a large amount of cash and the macroeconomics are fundamentally strong.
He also suggested investing in gold, despite the recent fall in price.
© 2008 CNBC.com
URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/26656750/site/14081545/
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