This book must be flying off the shelves at Amazon's warehouses, and for good reason. It is a welcome diversion to the anger-fear-nausea that has churned within me over the past few weeks and months. This hot-off-the-presses book can guide me in constructive thought and planning.
Will we have deflation or inflation? Schiff believes it will be deflation for big-ticket items typically purchased with debt (dwellings, education); for everything else there will be inflation. The reader should study this book, analyze his reasoning behind his recommendations, and evaluate how (or whether) to apply his strategy. As for me, his words sound spot-on, but I wonder if global markets are sufficiently decoupled for his advice (get out of $US) to be effective right now. On page 136 he states that decoupling is inevitable, but how long will it take to happen? No one really knows the answer to that.
This is written for people at various stages of life: students contemplating education and career choices, mid-career people looking for shelter from the storm, and retirees who want to maintain the best possible lifestyle and health care on fixed funds.
He lists pros and cons of various investment vehicles that can take you to other global markets (ETF, ETN, Mutual Funds, ADR, etc.), and how you may preserve the value of your domestic funds with precious metals and a very select few US investments. You won't find hot stock tips here. Instead Schiff shows you how to approach finding the best regional economies / countries / companies in which to invest, and provides some general directions to start your search.
Lastly, this is not an entirely pessimistic book. (Thank you Mr. Schiff!) I'm not ready to head for a bunker in Mexico with canned food and toilet paper - but he does recommend you stockpile foodstuffs and other essentials at home because inflation will erode your purchasing power. He has (cautious) hope for America, but acknowledges the next decade could get grim. You must be particularly wise now to avoid getting hit by the Destitution Bus. This book, along with much research, reflection, and planning can show you how.
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POSTSCRIPT February 2009. Clearly his timing was off. Way off. But I'm keeping this book on my shelf, distilling some of Schiff's ideas, and monitoring general economic signals. Consensus among many is that inflation is surely on the way with all these bailouts. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. That means you've got time to educate yourself, adopt and discard ideas based on their merit and applicability to your situation, and make plans for the various likely scenarios you foresee. You don't have to rush out pell mell today and throw all of your money at the first gold dealer you encounter. Take your time. Think it through. Make multi-facted plans and don't forget to formulate your exit strategy in case those plans turn out to be wrong. (Per Mish Shedlock, the lack of an exit strategy was one of Schiff's mistakes.)
I agree with the "flawed but worthy" and "helped me to sharpen my thoughts" type of reviews that awarded 2 or 3 stars. But Bull Moves presents a particular way of thinking and it should serve as a valuable wake-up call for folks who are beginning to suspect that we're going down a bad road. (Anyone in this category, please check out
The Revolution: A Manifesto).
Like I said before, it's up to the reader to reason through the information presented and decide whether to act on Schiff's advice. No person on this planet can provide you with a foolproof, chiseled-in-stone, step-by-step blueprint for how to proced. Caveat emptor.