The Coming Internet Depression Why The High-tech Boom Will Go Bust, Why The Crash Will Be Worse Than You Think, And How To Prosper Afterwards - Hardcover

Mandel, Michael J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465043585 ISBN 13: 9780465043583

Publisher: Basic Books, 2000

Synopsis

The economist most renowned for predicting the New Economy of the 1990s now returns-just as books like The Long Boom and Dow 36,000 are turning the idea of perpetual prosperity into conventional wisdom-to say that the dominating economic event of the next few years is likely to be a deep recession, perhaps even a depression. Michael J. Mandel begins The Coming Internet Depression by explaining why just such a depression is not only possible but increasingly likely. His explanation is based in a comparison of the present period with the 1920s: both saw tremendous growth in GDP that was largely centered on the "hypergrowth" of a single industry-automobiles in the 1920s, information technology today. When this "hypergrowth" reverts to a normal growth pattern, as the automobile industry did in 1929, the resulting overcapacity will slow down the entire economy. Mandel addresses three key questions: When will the Internet Depression start? How will we know when it's coming? How bad will it be? Finally, he shows how investors, workers, and businesses can navigate the bad times safely and prosper in the long recovery that will follow.

About this title

About the Author

Michael J. Mandel, the economics editor at Business Week, received the 1998 Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, the most prestigious award in business journalism, for his coverage of the New Economy. His wide range of cover stories for Business Week, including "The New Business Cycle," "The Economics of Crime," and "The Immigrants: How They Are Helping the U.S. Economy," has received national recognition and awards. Mandel holds Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and taught at New York University's Stern School of Business before joining Business Wee

Reviews

Will today's high tech economy burst in the near future, prompting a 1929-like depression? Mandel, an economics editor at Business Week, believes so. In this forecast-cum-investment guide, he declares that this narrow sector has heated up because of infusions of venture capital into new companies, huge increases in employment in the high tech sector and high investor expectations. However, according to Mandel, "there's a catch. Investors are not just betting on the profits from today's companies selling today's products and services. If they were, they wouldn't be willing to give enormous market values to companies that have no way of showing a profit. Instead, they bet on companies that have not yet been created, and innovations that have not yet been conceived of." If these expectations are punctured, America could face a massive depression with record-setting unemployment and a dramatic stock market plunge. But if individuals create sound financial plans to adjust for potential loss of income and if the government steps inDchanging interest rates or monitoring the stock marketDthen the depression will not be debilitating. Mandel's explanations of the differences between today's economy and that of 1929, and his description of how the U.S. economy differs from that in other countries, are informative and convincing. Although it concerns a much narrower market sector than Ron Insana's The Message of the Markets and Ralph Acampora's The 4th Mega-Market, and while many investors will resist Mandel's gloomy predictions, his message is likely to get media play due to the recent setbacks at many Internet companies. Additionally, amateur investors will appreciate the book's practical investing strategies. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465043585
• ISBN 13: 9780465043583
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 184