Market maven Jim Rogers is worried -- bad news given how brilliant his bullish calls on commodities and China, and bearish calls on financials look now.
In an interview with Fortune, Rogers said that "Conceivably we could have just had recession, hard times, sliding dollar, inflation, etc., but I'm afraid it's going to be much worse. Bernanke is printing huge amounts of money. He's out of control and the Fed is out of control. We are probably going to have one of the worst recessions we've had since the Second World War. It's not a good scene."
He's still bullish on China -- and believes the recent correction is a good thing. He recently sold his New York property and moved his family full-time to Singapore.
I don't pay attention to many market pundits, and I don't suggest that you do so either. But Jim Rogers is an exception.
Aside from investing in China -- which most people should already be doing anyway -- there's an ETF play if you like Rogers' thinking.
The ProShares UltraShort Financials ETF is a way to short the performance of the financial stocks Rogers is so bearish on -- with 2 times the volatility. While not for the faint of heart -- a gain of 10% for the sector will send you down 20% -- it's definitely worth a look given Rogers' track record.
Jim Rogers predicts one of the worst recessions since WW II
Posted Feb 1st 2008 4:29PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Forecasts, Bad news, Recession
Nuclear power is on the comeback trail
Apple backs AT&T in continuing spat with Verizon
Closing Bell: The recession is still over, still... do you feel it?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-01-2008 @ 6:55PM
Dennis James said...
Since Jim Rogers knows so much then why are Home builder stocks heading north.
What does a recession mean do people really know?
Un-employment fiqures are not really far out of Whack.
OK. So some people bought more than they should have whose to blame?
Many of the mortgage companies allowed this to happen making loans so easy, allowing two loans
to purchase a house to prevent mortgage insurance. Again whose at fault here.
You can blame it on the gov't everyone was fore warned about the bubble from "the government" People still bought homes at the markets peak!!!
I'll ask you once more whose at fault here????
2-02-2008 @ 7:38PM
Chris Chardon said...
Well, let's see... You've got the mortgage companies, who made it "too easy". You've got the government, who apparently should have exerted tighter control. Is there anyone else? Oh yeah, the people who took out the loans! They were in there somewhere too.
You can try to shift the blame all you like, but the plain fact of the matter is, the current credit crisis (in all its aspects) stems from exactly one thing: people failing to act from a position of personal fiscal responsibility. If you buy a million dollar house on a $40,000 salary, well, who's really to blame? The bank that lent you the money, or you yourself? The mortgage company that offered the ARM, or the person who signed it without really understanding what it meant?
2-02-2008 @ 10:18AM
Michael Schneider said...
For those who want to by the ETF which shorts the financials which you suggest as a possibility it is worth noting that this ETF has moves which are about double the market rate and you can make or lose money pretty fast. I have used it for day trades on bad days but if the market turns you can see a gain turn to a loss very fast. Very volatile.
I totally agree with you about Jim Rogers. He is an independent thinker who has had a great track record. For the record, I think his stock picks have done better than his pans over time and he has had some misses- often due to being too pessimistic about the US.
Many items on or about Jim Rogers are available in the Channeling Jim Rogers section at http://www.Barrelomoney.com.