The Trouble With Prosperity: The Loss of Fear, the Rise of Speculation, and the Risk to American Savings
Risk, according to James Grant, is our enemy. The current, seemingly endless run-up of the stock market is bound to crash around our ears at some point, sooner rather than later. The flood of cash that is lifting the current consumer economy stems from imprudent credit decisions by banks and, by extension, by the largest bank of all, the Federal Reserve. The flight of capital from bonds into mutual funds is only the most visible symbol of an America that has lost sight of fundamental economic forces. And so on. The writer and publisher ofGrant's Interest Rate Observer, Grant is a born contrarian, directing investors into commodities markets, which have been flat for 15 years, and away from the booming stock market. You can disagree with his prognosis, but it's hard to argue with his diagnosis. The boom of the 1990s can't last forever.