Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes [Hardcover]

Michael Panzner (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 1, 2007

According to Michael Panzner, the US is less than two years away from "financial Armageddon."  When the stock market bubble burst in March 2000, the collapse that followed wiped out over two-thirds of the value of the technology-laden Nasdaq Index and decimated the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans. 

 

Now, imagine not one, but four such disasters looming on the horizon.  Four key elements--Debt, Derivatives, Government Guarantees, and the Retirement system--are quickly unraveling, and because they are so intricately connected, there will be an unremitting domino effect.  With time running out, this is a disaster-in-the-making on which every American must be informed so they can protect themselves, their families, and their economic well-being before it's too late.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A Magnum Opus of the facts and figures of the astounding monetary and fiscal stupidities of the last decade; the incredible financial ignorance, intellectual sloth, and shameful gluttony of the public; and the despicable, pandemic corruptions that made it all possible." -- Richard Daughty, the Mogambo Guru

"An absorbing report on the gruesome inner workings of the Frankenstein Finance monster that is dragging the rest of our economy into a dark future." -- James Howard Kunstler, author, The Long Emergency

"Panzner is one of the few people I know who can deal with day-to-day Wall Street action and yet have a big picture perspective-a picture he paints in Financial Armageddon as one that should terrify us." -- Bill Cara, BillCara.com (Forbes Favorite, 2006)

"The definitive work on our economic future. Read it now or dwell on the consequences later." -- Bruce Stratton, SafeHaven.com

"Timely, accessible....Readers who follow Panzner's advice will be among the few who successfully weather the storm ahead." -- John Rubino, co-author, The Coming Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It

An informative work with much food for thought and excellent advice in preparing for the coming financial storm. -- Bull Not bull!, March 5, 2007.

Financial Armageddon doesn't pull any punches....[it's] a hard-hitting exposé of what may be our future. -- Seeking Alpha on Yahoo! Finance, March 17, 2007

From the Inside Flap

When the stock market bubble burst in 2000, the collapse that followed wiped out over two-thirds of the value of the Nasdaq Index and decimated the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans.

Now, imagine not one, but four such disasters looming on the horizon, all poised to erupt in a massive economic firestorm that will wreak widespread havoc in the months and years to come.

In Financial Armageddon, Wall Street insider Michael J. Panzner identifies the most pressing financial risks we face today: First, a burgeoning tower of public and private debt wobbling precariously on a foundation of excess and fraud; second, a multi-trillion-dollar house of cards to which all Americans are exposed but few understand; third, a vast array of largely hidden government promises that will ultimately go unkept; and fourth, a retirement mirage that will leave millions enslaved to the workplace until the day they die.

Panzner details the devastating impact that each phase of the coming calamity will have on the lives of every American, and shows readers how to recognize, guard against, and overcome myriad threats to their wealth and personal finances. Learn:
-How an unraveling economy will affect earnings, prices, and interest rates
-When to sell, what to buy, and where to invest as the crisis unfolds
-What to watch out for in relationships with friends, employers, and others
-The social, political, and geopolitical fallout from widespread financial upheaval

Financial Armageddon offers practical advice to weather the storm, simple steps to plan ahead, and a plan to survive if the unraveling hits before you're prepared. With time running out, every American must learn of the disaster-in-the-making so they can protect themselves, their families, and their economic well-being--before it's too late.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141959608X
• ISBN-13: 978-1419596087
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #803,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael J. Panzner is president of Panzner Associates LLC, publisher of Panzner Insights (http:www/panznerinsights.com), a members-only website focusing on markets, economics, and geopolitics.

He is a 30-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets who has worked in New York and London for such leading companies as HSBC, Soros Funds, ABN Amro, Dresdner Bank, and J.P. Morgan Chase.

Panzner is the author of When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era, Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes, and The New Laws of the Stock Market Jungle: An Insider's Guide to Successful Investing in a Changing World, and has also been a columnist at TheStreet.com's RealMoney paid-subscription service and a contributor to AOL's BloggingStocks.com.

Panzner has appeared on or been quoted by CNBC, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Barron's, Reuters, CNN, MarketWatch, BusinessWeek Online, TheStreet.com, Slate, CFO.com, and other print, radio and television outlets. His articles have appeared in Buyside, Stocks, Futures & Options, Management Review, and Business Credit.

He is a New York Institute of Finance faculty member specializing in Equities, Trading, Global Capital Markets and Technical Analysis and is a graduate of Columbia University.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

125 of 126 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, terrifying and informing March 2, 2007

By Andrew Rastrick

Format:Hardcover

Financial Armageddon presents an alarming discussion of the Four Horsemen riding towards the U.S economy. Panzner has turned what might seem dry or inaccessible subjects - i.e derivatives, deficits, pension liabilities - into a tale even the layest of laymen can understand. Some will suggest it goes overboard in it's pessimism (hyper-inflation? widespread beggary and pestilence?) but even if it does it scarcely begins to offset the institutionalised optimism pumped out in the popular media. However the book is not just doom and gloom, it also provides concrete ideas on how individuals can prepare themselves and their investments. If even a fraction of Panzner's predictions come to pass investors will be grateful for the recommendations contained in this book. Read it and come away disturbed, but informed.

125 of 131 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Forewarned is forearmed. March 5, 2007

By L.A. in CA

Format:Hardcover

Part One of this book offers a brief overview of four financial threats the author suggests Americans will be facing in the near future. This is the mild stuff.

What follows, in Parts Two and Three, is a very disturbing "worst case" scenario of what life might be like for the average American once these four threats hit home. We could be facing a full-fledged systemic economic breakdown. And we will each be on our own. There is no certainty that we can count on Social Security; retirement pensions; Medicare, or financial institutions to save us. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There will be fallout from dozens of other disasters headed our way as society begins unraveling. We need to start taking immediate steps to educate and protect ourselves. Part Four of the book offers some advice on how to do just that.

This is an intense read. It is fascinating in somewhat the same way a trainwreck is fascinating. I couldn't put it down.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Ain't no sugarcoating here! March 17, 2007

By Jeffrey Clark

Format:Hardcover

This was not a "fun" book to read. I disagree with the comment above that describes this book as "sobering" - it's outright depressing! I was simultaneously fascinated and horrified by the way the author details what life will be like if the crashes he outlines come to happen. The first two sections of the book outline the 4 basic threats and then the risks to our society from those threats, which is frankly a little dry. But then it gets juicy...the "fallout" section grabs you in a scary-movie sort of way and almost makes you want to put the book down and walk away, but you can't, just like you can't pull your eyes away from, say, an airplane crashing in you own backyard. The final section, "defenses," gives some ways to protect yourself, but the solutions fluctuate, depending on the circumstances of the economy at the time. He even discusses how this will affect your relationships and the kind of lifestyle you will lead if you're not prepared. It certainly will make you think twice about your own situation, and even if he's partly wrong, it will make you want to live the Boy Scout motto. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because the recommendations aren't real specific, but I still strongly recommend it.

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good for a Starter Book April 4, 2007

By John K.

Format:Hardcover

There are over a dozen recent books on this topic, and I have read nearly every single one. A couple are terrible, most are okay, one is good (this one) and one is truly spectacular (America's Financial Apocalypse).

The only problem is, like most of the others, "Financial Armageddon" is a bit too simplistic for those who are in the know, but it does a good job given its obvious wide audience. I would rank it higher than "Crash Proof."

The very best book by far though is "America's Financial Apocalypse." I would recommend "Armageddon" and "Apocalypse" as a nice one-two punch to gain the best understanding of the situation. The price difference between these books is well-justified. The former is a crash course while the later is manifesto of sort.

41 of 48 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Lots of repeating statements about the collapse, no real solutions. Don't waste your time! June 27, 2008

By SoCal Amazonian

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The book was predominantly boring while I was waiting for actual news, something to learn. A lot of the ideas were repeating throughout the book just rephrased.
I couldn't wait to get to the "solutions" part. But when I got to it - what a disappointment! Advice like "buy insurance", "watch for deals that are too good to be true", "don't trust this or that guy, check this web site for his background", etc. were all obvious suggestions and sound like grandma's advice: "don't talk to strangers" type of statements.
This book is a complete waste of time. Even though author touched on some of the problems the economy has it could be put together in 10 pages. The other 174 pages are garbage.

124 of 153 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the better Doom + Gloom books June 20, 2007

By Robert Sczech

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like to read gloom and doom books. They are more fun reading than crime stories. I remember reading "Bankruptcy 1995" in the early 1990's - a book which predicted the bankrutcy of the United States in 1995. It was a scary reading in 1990, but as we know today, that prediction did not come true. In fact, the majority of all predictions about the future turn out to be wrong. It is not easy to predict the future correctly.

The book under review distinguishes itself from other books on this subject by its willingness to consider extremely dark scenarios in the future. Contrary to most other books, Panzner believes that the future will unfold via a debt deflation first followed by hyperinflation later on. He seriously believes that the Dollar will get more valuable in the future due to the Dollar scarcity caused by the accelerated repayment of debts.

The attempt to analyze the future in terms of inflation and deflation is in my opinion a case of old and obsolete financial thinking. The last major incidences of hyperinflation and deflation occured at least 70 years ago. Since then, the nature of money has changed completely. Today, money is essentially a piece of data in a computer system. Very little cash exists in the world in form of currency. Ben Bernanke is right by emphasizing that it is very easy to fight deflation: just mail to everybody credit card offers with 0% interest valid until the balance is paid off. (Such offers exist already today: 1.99% until the balance is paid off). Although Bernanke did not say it, it is equally easy for the government to fight hyperinflation.... Since hyperinflation is characterized by extreme circulation velocities of money, what needs to be done in such a case is simply restrict people's access to their bank balances and credit cards to let's say $100 per day. That will dramatically increase the scarcity of Dollars which in turn will kill any emerging hyperinflation. All of that is easy to implement because money today is not tangible currency (like 60 years ago) but electronic bytes in computer memories. Computers are very powerful. That power can be utilized in order to control the flow of money and economic activity very efficiently.

If the future does not bring deflation nor hyperinflation, how will the future unfold? I believe, in the future we will not run out of money. Instead, we will run out of resources. For instance, gasoline may not be avaiable all the time. Electricity may not be avaiable 24 hours a day (blackouts). Water may not be avaiable 24 hours a day. Certain types of foods may become scarce. I believe that these things are going to happen first before any serious financial crash will occur. More effort is being spent on securing the financial system than money is being spent in securing essential resources for the future. In other words, the future will unfold pretty much in the direction of what happened in the Soviet Union before it collapsed. Everybody had a job and plenty of money. The money had great purchasing power, but unfortunately stores were empty most of the time, that is, money could be not be exchanged against consumer goods all the time. Certain essential things could not be obtained in stores, but on the black market only in form of barter (supplemented by money and alcohol as a form of payment). A development like this would be the logical conclusion of monetary policies started by Roosevelt in the 1930's.

One last remark: Every doom and gloom book should commit itself to stating a date by which the author admits that his predictions were wrong. For instance, if you predict bankruptcy of the United States, please also state a date by which such an event is going to happen at the latest. It does not make sense to predict the bankruptcy of the US 100 years from today. Such a prediction is totally worthless. If no date is specified by which the prediction is going to happen at the latest, there are no means to falsify the intellectual efforts of the author. In such a case, the prediction has only entertainment value. Read more ›