Aftershock:Protect yourself & profit in the next global

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Buckeye78
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Aftershock:Protect yourself & profit in the next global

Post by Buckeye78 »

I just finished reading "Aftershock: protect yourself and profit in the next global financial meltdown."
I know this isn't the type of theory that most Bogleheads would put much faith in, however I would like to find out if anybody else finds the logic spot-on.
The authors were right on with their previous book about the meltdown in 2008.
Their theory and conclusions are the most clear-headed and rational of anything I have heard or read concerning the economic straits this country is in concerning the debt.
The paradigm shift is disconcerting and scary. I don't think I would follow all of their advice, selling primary home, etc.., however their concepts about what to own/not own makes sense.
I would be interested in hearing other views on the book.
Stonebr
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Post by Stonebr »

I've read so many of these trashy books over the years, I'd puke if I tried reading this one. It's investment pornography of the lowest, sleaziest kind. These guys are selling something and the book is just advertizing.

No thanks.
"have more than thou showest, | speak less than thou knowest" -- The Fool in King Lear
Michael Baker
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Post by Michael Baker »

don't read it, where is the academic studies and peer reviewed information?
Michael Baker
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Post by Michael Baker »

By the way when all of the doom and gloom articles come out it is amazing how many of them are wrong. in fact, many of them come up when the economy hits rock bottom. Ignore that stuff.
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leonidas
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Post by leonidas »

I sometimes like to pick up these types of books in the dollar bins and just see how close or how far from the mark they turned out to be. Read Bankruptcy 1995 written in 1990 (or so) which was way off and then the Harry Browne book about the coming dollar devaluation which was somewhat accurate (to the nest of my knowledge since its been years since I read that one)
Bob's not my name
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Post by Bob's not my name »

Buckeye78 wrote:etc..,
Buckeye78 wrote:their concepts about what to own/not own makes sense
Stonebr wrote:advertizing
Michael Baker wrote:where is the academic studies
Michael Baker wrote:wrong. in fact,
leonidas wrote:to the nest of my knowledge
I'm going to have to misspell something just to keep up the winless streek.
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nisiprius
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Re: Aftershock:Protect yourself & profit in the next glo

Post by nisiprius »

Buckeye78 wrote:The authors were right on with their previous book about the meltdown in 2008.
Were they actually? I don't know, I haven't looked. What did they actually say? Do you have the book and can you quote it?

Did they provide actionable intelligence, a specific timeframe, and specific trigger conditions for taking specific actions?

Or was it something like "sooner or later there is a crash coming and it may be a terrific one," which Roger Babson said in a September 16th, 1929 issue of Babson's Reports, giving him undying credit as having "called it."

(Added) The book you cited is by David Wiedemer, Robert Wiedemer, and Cindy Spitzer. Is the previous book you mentioned America's Bubble Economy: Profit When It Pops (Oct. 6, 2006) by David Wiedemer, Robert Wiedemer, Cindy Spitzer and Eric Janszen?

From the little peeks Google Books shows me, the message seems to be merely another version of Babson's "sooner or later there is a crash coming and it may be a terrific one," with advice on what investments will do well if you are able to correctly spot the start of the crash and act on it.

For what it's worth, a Google Books search in that book for "2008" comes up with no hits. So this was not a book "about the meltdown in 2008."

I see they do say something specific. When discussing the concept of risk they say that
the risks you may face by taking steps to protect current assets and create significant future wealth during the coming Bubblequake are relatively minor compared to the truly terrible, 100 per cent guaranteed risk of sitting back and doing nothing while your assets evaporate right before your eyes and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities permanently pass you by.
Very well. If that's supposed to be predicting 2008 I say they did not call it. I in fact sat back and did nothing, and my assets did not "evaporate right before my eyes." My heavy bond allocation was basically unaffected, my modest stock allocation was hit and recovered.

But, as I say, that was a quick peek. What do you see that counts as "they called it?"
Last edited by nisiprius on Sun Jul 10, 2011 7:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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leonidas
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Post by leonidas »

:oops: I saw my misspelling and figured no one would notice.
avalpert
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Post by avalpert »

Well, I haven't read the book but this from a review on amazon (if accurate) should provide enough of an answer to whether their advice has any merit:
Written in mid 2009, the book failed miserably in providing tactical investment advice. For example:
o They suggest shorting the market with inverse ETFs. That strategy would have been a disaster in the year after March 2009 when the stock market soared.
o They write that the Euro community will be much more solid than the US dollar in the near term. Now we see the Euro in collapse with the US dollar doing fine.
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orcycle
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Post by orcycle »

For those who are interested, you can find a video interview with the authors of this book. I can't post the link, but I would guess it's easy to track down. I'm listening to it right now....
SP-diceman
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Re: Aftershock:Protect yourself & profit in the next glo

Post by SP-diceman »

nisiprius wrote:
Buckeye78 wrote:The authors were right on with their previous book about the meltdown in 2008.
Were they actually? I don't know, I haven't looked. What did they actually say? Do you have the book and can you quote it?

Did they provide actionable intelligence, a specific timeframe, and specific trigger conditions for taking specific actions
I think they said something like:

Sell in Oct/Nov 2007 at the top.
Buy in March 2009 at the bottom. :)


Thanks
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orcycle
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Post by orcycle »

I gave up watching the video 'interview.' You know something's fishy when they give away 1,000 free books, and from within the video clip, they show a shrinking number of books remaining. Who do they think they're fooling?

Too many come-ons (secret chapter!) and fear-mongering. And if I got the book, I'm sure I'd be bombarded with sales pitches.
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