The Committee to Destroy the World: Inside the Plot to Unleash a Super Crash on the Global Economy - Hardcover

Lewitt, Michael E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1119183545 ISBN 13: 9781119183549

Publisher: Wiley, 2016

Synopsis

An updated examination of what's weakening the U.S. economy, and how to fix it

The Committee to Destroy the World: Inside the Plot to Unleash a Super Crash on the Global Economy is a passionate and informed analysis of the struggling global economy. In this masterfully conceived and executed work, Michael Lewitt, one of Wall Street's most respected market strategists and money managers, updates his groundbreaking examination of the causes of the 2008 crisis and argues that economic and geopolitical conditions are even more unstable today. His analysis arrives in time for the impending economic and geopolitical debates of the 2016 election season. Lewitt explains in detail how debt has now overrun the world's capacity, how federal policies of the past few decades have created a downward vortex sapping growth and vitality from the American economy, and how greed and corruption are preventing reform.

The financial crisis created tens of trillions of debt, leaving investors to pay a huge price for these policy failures:

• The highest asset inflation we've seen in our lifetimes, although the government claims there isn't enough inflation
• More than $2 trillion of stock buybacks funded with low cost debt that are artificially inflating stock prices
• The Federal Reserve and other global central banks becoming the largest buyers of government debt in order to suppress interest rates
• An M&A boom resulting from companies needing to find growth outside of their core businesses

While the financial media misses the story, Lewitt pulls no punches explaining how all of these trends are leading to the brink of another crisis.

Lewitt lays out a survival plan for the average investor to protect their assets when the debt bubble bursts. The first edition of this book expressed hope that policymakers would not let the financial crisis go to waste. This book urges investors to learn from the crushed hope and take action before the next crisis.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

In the days after the 2008 financial crisis, surveying the debris of the global economy, our leaders swore they would never allow such a disaster to happen again. But that crash didn't materialize out of thin air—and neither will the next one.
Blame the Committee to Destroy the World.

Over the past eight years, a small group of politicians, central bankers, and regulators adopted wildly activist policies to solve the debt crisis and promote recovery. Zero interest rates... QE schemes to monetize trillions of dollars... currency debasement. All of it was guaranteed to lead the world straight into the jaws of another financial crisis.

Today the markets are much more distorted, the world is much more indebted and leveraged, and geopolitics are much more fractured. These corrupt and inept policy makers have no tools left —leaving us on the verge of a "Super Crash" that will make 2008 look like a garden party.

Credit expert Michael Lewitt pulls no punches in explaining where we went wrong. But the real power of this book is in his solutions—not just at a policy level, but for individual investors managing their wealth. In this book he:

• Details how all asset classes are grossly inflated in value—stocks, bonds, real estate, art, collectibles—and how to find and exploit the pockets of opportunity
• Highlights the worst investments to hold now
• Reveals the secret to investment success in a post-crisis global economy
• Discusses the importance of formulating your own "alternative strategy"
• Gives specific recommendations on the U.S. dollar, gold, equities, bonds, income-generating securities, emerging market investments, and more

Lewitt's message: It's not too late. The global financial system is resilient. But investors no longer have the luxury of waiting for politicians and central bankers to come to their senses. They need to act in their own self-interest—starting now.

About the Author

Michael E. Lewitt is widely recognized as one of the top credit strategists in the world. He's been a major player in the money management business for more than 25 years, and his Third Friday Total Return Fund ranks among the best in the hedge fund industry. The Financial Times recognized him as one of the few analysts to correctly predict both the credit crisis of 2001-02 and the financial crisis of 2007-08. Since 2001, Michael's The Credit Strategist newsletter has influenced many of the world's leading investors. He also writes Sure Money and contributes to Money Morning.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1119183545
• ISBN 13: 9781119183549
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 448