Probably the best economic bear book ever written with a technical analysis viewpoint. The forecasts are at least a decade early, but when you consider that the author is examining patterns that range over multiple centuries, a decade does not seem to be so far off. Find out more about the book at Elliott Wave International.

Another financial armageddon book, while premature, outlines a scenario in which debt overwhelms the US federal government, foreign countries take over US assets, and the economy dies by a collapse of the dollar. The author describes the fiscal policies and deficits under presidential administrations from Johnson to Bush the elder.

The authors (a businessman and an economist) are among the few rare people who have interviewed countless economists, workers, and businessmen in South America and Eastern Europe who have had to live through recent (20th century) hyperinflationary environments.

Be sure to read our book review.

The information in this book is as relevant as ever! Visit our book review page. Read an interview with Bob Prechter that came out around the time the book was published. You can also find out more about the book at Elliott Wave International.

There are plenty of copies of this book available on Amazon Marketplace. We also have copies available and are offering them bundled with Prechter's Perspective for the cost of one book. Contact us if you'd like to help us out and purchase either this book or the two book set.

In his book prior to this one, Dr. Batra was ambivalent over whether the next economic decline suffered by the USA would be inflationary or deflationary in nature. In this book, Batra argues that the US economy is headed for an inflationary depression.

Read Jay Taylor's interview with Ravi Batra.

Doug Casey is an admitted "permabear", but his book remains an excellent read - devoid of the wacko religious slant you may encounter in other mega-bearish books. For example, just see what he has to say about money market funds as a "disaster waiting to happen." His remarks are all the more relevant with the 1990's securitization frenzy of shaky debt (credit card debt, telecom debt, dot com debt); these financial bombs end up as "assets" in commercial paper portfolios. Doug likes simplicity in personal finances. Contrary to opinions that Doug is "all gold, all the time", he has been known to deftly move in and out of gold on a short term basis.

Read an interview:
A View of the Greater Deflationary Depression, Part I
A View of the Greater Deflationary Depression, Part II

Published in 2002, this book anticipates economic conditions exceeding the Great Depression in severity in the 2009-2010 timeframe.

The book makes an argument for population growth and immigration closely correlating with the Dow. It made a claim that it had an extremely accurate model that anticipate market turns and Dow returns starting from 1920. However, the time since 2002 has already shown that the model is not so accurate. The author could end up being correct about our economic future, but for the wrong reasons. At 64 pages, it's easy to read and add to your bear bookshelf.

Probably one of the first doom-and-gloom books targeting the 1990's as a potential decade of economic hardship. Batra has something of a longterm cycle viewpoint. Read an interview in which Dr. Batra discusses what he learned from his errors in producing this volume.

Visit Ravi Batra's website. He has recently written a controversial book about Alan Greenspan.

Beware of anybody trying to sell you something with the line, "Well if super-company X owns these, it's OK for you to own them too!"

Germania Bank's hard sell of "schnotes" is a good lesson in resisting the temptation to not stretch for that extra yield. The lesson for today (January 2006) would probably be to stay away from junk bonds.

If you have been taking the safety of your money in your bank for granted, be sure to read the hair-raising incident in Rhode Island, when in 1991 the newly-elected governor shut down many financial institutions, and a Rhode Islander had to prove hardship with bills from his doctor, his electric company, and his other creditors in order to get money out of his savings.

In this book, Batra accurately warned of the crash we experienced in 1998, warning also that if the markets fall less than 50%, they will get more volatile in the near future.

In addition to anticipating how the Asian financial crisis would impact our markets, Batra provides an interesting analysis of the US as an economic empire and compares it to empires past.

Visit Ravi Batra's website. He has recently written a controversial book about Alan Greenspan.

Your mutual fund investments are at the mercy of far more than just fluctuating stock prices. Nor is there any guarantee your money market fund net asset value will remain fixed at $1. Packed with historical information about financial manias and how pooled investment trusts have been instruments of speculation, plus some advice on how to manage your own money as well as how to scrutinize mutual funds for their safety as well as cost-effectiveness.

In fact, because the day of reckoning has been deferred for so long, we think this book is now not bearish enough, and we would strongly advise against owning a portfolio of "institutional favorites" or municipal bonds.

It is probably accurate to say that NOBODY on Wall Street or in Washington picks apart financial institutions for their safety the way Martin Weiss does. If Martin Weiss cannot recommend a safe bank then there are probably no safe banks to be found.

Be sure to take advantage of Weiss services at Weiss Ratings.