Description:
Get ready, investors: the graying of America, the resurgence of Japan, global warming, and six other major trends will jar the world's stock markets in the next century. "Because the changing world continually buffets the markets, we cannot blindly throw money into stocks, into mutual funds, or into a bank account," warns leading economist Todd G. Buchholz in Market Shock. Instead, investors must be prepared to capitalize on opportunities as they unfold, says Buchholz, also the author of the bestseller New Ideas from Dead Economists. For instance, with the aging of baby boomers, savvy investors should begin moving into health-care and pharmaceutical stocks. And with the prospect of global warming, investors should consider insurance companies that are avoiding coverage of homes in low-lying coastal regions. The other six economic and social trends: a boom in minority populations; the biotechnology and information revolutions; China's growing importance in the global economy; a possible jump in crime; the potential failure of European unity; and the rising fees and slumping performance of mutual funds. Buchholz begins each chapter with a futuristic gloom-and-doom scenario and a fictional news flash. Without naming particular companies, he then describes the sorts of investments likely to flourish during those events. Market Shock can help people sidestep some investing minefields and possibly profit from some major trends that could transform the world's economies. --Dan Ring
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