Harry Dent Speaks Out

Remember Harry Dent? If not, go to your local bookseller and order a copy of the Roaring 2000's. I first read this book right after Y2K – the biggest non-event ever. But what intrigued me with Harry Dent was his look into the future. He predicted that the first 10 years of the new millennium would be a rip-roaring event that would see financial markets zoom higher. Was he right? Well, partly so. What he failed to see was that people would opt to chase real estate purchases instead of stocks and mutual funds. But, that being said, the DOW and the S&P actually did do quite well. They just did not go as high as he thought. Mr. Dent now admits that he did not envision Oil rising through $100 a barrel and he did not envision in 1999 (when he wrote the book) that we would find our way into a sub-prime mess. To his credit – who could have envisioned such a thing back in 1999?

Now Mr. Dent is in the final throes of a new book and he warns – it 'aint pretty. This new book (and I can't wait to get my hands on it !!) will argue that the next 10 years will see continued volatility. This will be driven by a restructuring of world order in which America recedes to the sidelines while the BRIC nations ( Brazil, Russia, India, China) power ahead. This adjustment will come just as the first part of the baby boomer generation retires. These two major themes will collide head on and markets will bear (no pun intended) the brunt. If you are wondering about dates, his new book will actually offer some specifics. He says that later this year we will see the markets recover and we will see commodities continue to do well. But, as we get into 2010 the effects of the retiring boomers (and their reduced spending) will be felt which will prove to be a drain on the economy and the markets. In fact the markets may outright crash in a bad way. He suggests that between 2010 and 2020 we may see Bonds return more than an investment in equities (a rarity indeed). He concludes by saying that after the coming crash one should position himself into companies that will benefit from the growth in the BRIC nations. This also seems to bode well for resource sector type stocks as well as these nations will need resources to grow. Failure to recognize what is coming on the markets he says could well see many folks who have enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle spend their retirement in quite an opposite set of circumstances.