Many economists and U.S. government officials have declared that the Great Recession is over. Yet Bob Prechter has just put out the second edition of the book whose title says it all: Conquer the Crash: You Can Survive and Prosper in a Deflationary Depression. Clearly, he doesn't buy the idea that the economy and the financial markets are about to take off again -- and neither should you.
The first edition of Conquer the Crash became a New York Times bestseller in 2002 with more than 100,000 people reading it in time to protect their wealth before the sequential crashes in junk bonds, property, stocks and commodities. Wiley is publishing the second edition, which is available online now.
Prechter anticipated the current economic and financial situation in surprising detail in the first edition of Conquer the Crash, forecasting events such as these: the implosion of collateralized securities; bank failures; Fannie Mae's stock collapse; and a rare, simultaneous fall in real estate, stocks and commodities. Since then, the average U.S. homeowner has suffered a decline of up to 40% in property value, Fannie Mae is a zombie corporation under the government’s protection, and stocks and commodities had their biggest fall since 1929-1932.
The second edition adds 188 new pages of real-time commentary on markets and the mounting prospects for deflation -- rather than inflation -- to become the true threat to the U.S. economy. It includes the entire original edition, word for word, which is as relevant as the day it first published. Prechter warns that the doors to financial safety are closing all over the world. Within the new section, he expands his recommended list of ways that prudent people can protect their wealth and their livelihoods. It is all in a good cause, as those who can keep their money safe during the deflationary depression will be ready for the great buying opportunity that lies ahead after the crash.
For anyone who missed getting safe when the world was in party-hearty mode, the timing for this new edition -- as once again economists and financial authorities are announcing that all is well -- couldn't be more useful.