Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown »

David Wiedemer, Phd, is a ground-breaking evolutionary economist who created the rigorous economic analysis on which this book is based. He received his PhD in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Wiedemer has held senior management positions with several Washington, DC–area high-technology companies and holds thirteen domestic and international patents on information technology.

Robert A. Wiedemer brings to the team the real-world investment understanding and analytical skills that come from founding a NASDAQ-listed information services company. He also serves as the primary investment valuation advisor for the U.S. Small Business Administration's Small Business Investment Company division, which is the largest fund of private venture capital funds in the world with over $20 billion under management in over 4,000 investments.

Cindy Spitzer is an award-winning writer based in Baltimore, Maryland, who has coauthored, edited, written, or consulted on more than twenty books since 1993, including the first Chicken Soup for the Soul®, as well as Reader's Digest books, Time Life books, and many others. She has also contributed to the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Newsweek, and many other publications.

In 2006, with home values high and credit flowing, authors David Wiedemer, Robert Wiedemer, and Cindy Spitzer accurately predicted the popping of the housing bubble, the collapse of the private debt bubble, the fall of the stock market bubble, the decline of consumer spending, and the widespread pain all of this was about to inflict on the rest of our economy. How did they get it so right while others got it so wrong? The authors saw a fundamental underlying pattern that others were—and, unfortunately, are still—missing. It may seem like the worst has come and gone, but it hasn't, say the authors in this new book. Things are not going back to how they were before. In Aftershock, the authors offer the definitive look at what is still to come—and what investors must do to protect themselves.

This is not merely a down market cycle, the authors explain, nor is it a typical recession. It is a multi-bubble economy that is being hit by a "Bubblequake"—and the coming Aftershock will be far more dangerous. Aftershock details the next bubbles about to burst, including the Dollar Bubble and the Government Debt Bubble, while there's still time to protect your assets and position yourself to survive and thrive in this dangerous, yet potentially profitable new environment. They offer specific advice on how to profit and, more importantly, how not to lose money during the Aftershock. They identify the best Bubblequake and Aftershock investments—those that take advantage of a falling stock market and those that take advantage of a falling dollar. And they reveal where the jobs will be in what they call the "Necessities Sector," composed primarily of health care, education, and government services.

Despite how well the economy appeared to be doing in 2006, these authors predicted it would only be two or three years before America's multiple bubbles would begin to decline and eventually burst. It turned out they were right. There is still time for individuals and businesses to cover their assets and even find ways to profit in the Aftershock. Those who followed the authors' advice in 2006 have profited handsomely—and now, readers of Aftershock will get a second chance.

Executive Summary vii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

Part 1 First the Bubblequake, Next the Aftershock

Chapter 1 America's Bubble Economy 3

Chapter 2 Phase I: The Bubblequake 25

Chapter 3 Phase II: The Aftershock 60

Chapter 4 Global Mega-Money Meltdown 98

Part 2 Aftershock Dangers and Profits

Chapter 5 Covering Your Assets: How Not to Lose Money 115

Chapter 6 Cashing in on Chaos 127

Chapter 7 Aftershock Jobs and Businesses 148

Part 3 A New View of the Economy

Chapter 8 Forget Economic Cycles, This Economy Is Evolving 163

Chapter 9 The New View of the Economy Helped Us Predict the Current Bubblequake, So Why Don't Some People Like It? 191

Chapter 10 Phase III: A Look Ahead to the Post-Dollar-Bubble World 207

Epilogue Say Good-bye to the Age of Excess 225

Appendix A Forces Driving the Collapse of the Bubbles 229

Appendix B How We Can (and Will) Solve Our Economic Problems 255

Bibliography 261

Index 265