Profiting from the World's Economic Crisis: Finding Investment Opportunities by Tracking Global Market Trends [Hardcover]

Bud Conrad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2010 | ISBN-10: 9780470460351 | ISBN-13: 978-0470460351 | Edition: 1

Praise for Profiting From the World's Economic Crisis

"Someone is going to make money in the next decade. Perhaps Bud will help you find your way."
—Jim Rogers, cofounder, Quantum Fund; author, A Gift to My Children

"Where everyone today has an opinion on everything, much of it gleaned from a blog, Bud Conrad's constant mantra is 'What does the data say?' And then he rolls up his sleeves and works almost around the clock for as many days as it takes to get to a defensible answer. In other words, there are those who talk, and those who do. Bud does. In Profiting from the World's Economic Crisis, Bud tells you what the data shows about the risks and opportunities just ahead. You'll want to pay attention."
—David Galland, Managing Editor, The Casey Report

"Bud Conrad's book is a brutally honest journey into the future. Honest because Bud builds on facts, not popular opinion; brutal as he¿illustrates the logical consequences as global dynamics play out. You can't afford not to read this book."
—Axel Merk, President and Chief Investment Officer, Merk Mutual Funds; author, Sustainable Wealth

"This book could not be better timed, as the government and Wall Street do their best to convince the public that the financial storm has passed. Bud Conrad begs to differ and using his unique ability to take complex data and distill it into straightforward charts, he not only explains how the hurricane developed, but why it's far from over. He then goes on to show investors not just how to survive the storm's resurgence, but how to prosper."
—Steve Henningsen, Chief Financial Strategist, The Wealth Conservancy

"Right now you may be asking yourself 'What's going to happen to the economy, why is it happening, and what can I do to profit from it?' As far as I'm concerned, Bud has the correct answers to these questions. Among other things, this book will become 'the' reference book for data and charts that economists and investors will go to for years to come. I urge you to read this book—now—and act on its advice."
—DOUG CASEY, Chairman, Casey Research, bestselling author, Crisis Investing

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

In Profiting from the World's Economic Crisis, author Bud Conrad, Chief Economist for Casey Research, predicts a rough road ahead for us—due to economic imbalances that have built up over the past decade—but reveals how you can prosper during these difficult times by tracking global market trends and finding investment opportunities that match those trends.

With this book, Conrad outlines the long-term direction of our economy as driven by increasing U.S. government and trade deficits, oil prices, Social Security and Medicare obligations for baby boomers, the credit crisis, and the weakening dollar. He also examines why some of the government's actions—such as bailing out banks and curbing interest rates—fail to address more serious, long-term issues such as too much debt.

The crisis we have entered is not a typical business recession, but, instead, a major deleveraging which is the biggest shift since the Great Depression. The stagflation of the U.S. economy will present great challenges on a global scale. And since no market travels in a straight line, you need to be positioned correctly, with the right investments, to protect yourself and profit from the twists and turns you'll inevitably face in today's turbulent economic environment.

Profiting from the World's Economic Crisis deftly addresses how to gain your financial footing during these difficult times by highlighting global investment opportunities—such as gold, interest rates, currency, and commodities—that are likely to help you profit in the coming years.

About the Author

Bud Conrad is the Chief Economist at Casey Research and has been a futures investor for twenty-five years, as well as a full-time investor for more than a decade. He holds an MBA from Harvard and an electrical engineering degree from Yale. Conrad has held positions with IBM, CDC, Amdahl, and Tandem. His comprehensive picture of the world's economy, based on a career of using long-term fundamental analysis, enables him to explain how this crisis arose and where it will evolve to. He uses insights learned from his engineering training to interpret how investment cycles affect our economy. He served as a local board member of the National Association for Business Economics and taught graduate courses in investing at Golden Gate University. A popular speaker, Conrad has delivered talks in New Zealand, Dubai, New York, Vancouver, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. He has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business News, New Zealand 3news, and has commented in many publications from the Wall Street Journal to Reuters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780470460351
• ISBN-13: 978-0470460351
• ASIN: 0470460350
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Like a Boy Scout - Always prepared April 27, 2010

By Alex

Format:Hardcover

Mr. Conrad's book provides a dizzying amount of financial and economic analysis, not only of what has transpired over the recent years in the global economy, but also of the precipice we find ourselves dangling over. Prior to reading this book, I would have put myself into the skeptical camp that the global economic situation was really as fragile as it is, but the author provides a very compelling, fact driven base for that argument. The book also provides a great historical analysis of what types of investments have fared the best, helping people to both survive and thrive, in prior economic downturns. There is no steadfast rule that this one will turn out like any other, but a good mix of history and theory will have you much better prepared for the potential tectonic shifts in front of us than you would be without. The prose is a little on the dry side, but the variety of facts and figures it arms you with more than make up for that. In all, a highly recommended read for anyone who is unsure about the direction of the economy, and the direction of their portfolio in relation to it.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not for Kindle May 2, 2010

By C. Bennett

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really like this book. I am only 1/2 way through but am forming some opinions. Perhaps because I, too, was educated as an engineer I value his "data based" and logical opinions developed from the data. Written with a surprising lack of obvious bias (at least to this point), he uses the concepts of systems thinking and systems dynamics to explain past and present economic conditions; all building the base from which he derives his conclusions. This is not exciting reading but it is very clear and satisfying if one really wants to work a bit to understand this kind of stuff.

However.. I am reading this on my laptop (as my wife uses the Kindle) and this book still does not lend itself to the Kindle format. He uses a great many charts and graphs to support his points and they are a key to understanding. Thus, it takes a great deal of flipping back and forth to follow his explainations of them. Despite changing font sizes, the two are seldom on the same page and often a number of pages apart. So I deducted one star.

Overall, the book is still worth the effort to me. I just wish I had ordered a hard copy so I could flip and mark up paper pages.

Added Later... I finished it a few days after the above and would still recommend it for those serious about wanting to understand what we are facing. Although he has some recommendations as to "what to do".. that is not the focus nor main value of the book.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Information and Analysis April 21, 2010

By Bruce Janigian

Format:Hardcover

What a truly important and timely book! The author assumes nothing, but proceeds like a proper scientific investigator looking at precedent and working conservatively from a base of actual knowledge, not wishful thinking or unfounded speculation.

He also provides very readable prose, appearing almost effortlessly to communicate some very complex subjects. It is actually a pleasure becoming informed about some basically dry-as-hell stuff.

The author shows himself to be a gifted economist and communicator who depicts the reality in which we now find ourselves without an agenda, other than to share ways one may actually profit no matter how bleak the circumstances, if one can anticipate them.