Marc Faber: White House Should Let Markets Work
The US administration's interventions in the market will not solve problems and will bring about unintended consequences, Marc Faber, author and publisher of the "Gloom, Boom & Doom Report," told CNBC Friday.
 |
Axel Griesch | ASFM | Getty Images Dr. Marc Faber |
President Barack Obama on Thursday proposed new limits on the size and trading practices of big banks, to prevent excessive risk-taking.
"I don't have a very high opinion of Mr. Obama," Faber told "Squawk Box Europe." "I was negative of Mr. Bush but I think Mr. Obama makes him look like a genius."
"Basically I think everybody will agree that in an economic system the market solves problems best."
The result of the slashing of interest rates to 0 percent in the autumn of 2007 was the surge in oil prices in the first half of 2008, because investors were looking for a place to put their money to get a return, he explained.
"The annual expenditures for oil of the US increased… you had another $500 billion tax on the consumer. That pushed the consumer down even more in his reduction of consumption," he said.
"Most people don't have money left after the policies implemented in US," Faber said. "These people, they should all send a thank-you note to Ben Bernanke for printing money because it didn't benefit the US, it benefited emerging countries."
Faber said he was against repealing the Glass-Steagall Act that was separating investment banks from commercial banks, but he does not think state regulation is the answer.
"When someone tells me the government should regulate the banks, they shouldn't. It's a disaster. But they should have interest rates that are high, that curtail speculation," Faber said.
Debt Is Bad, Invest in Stocks
The following crisis is likely to be in sovereign debt, because interest payments on government debts could reach between 35 percent and 50 percent of government revenue in 10 years, according to Faber
"In my opinion it's beyond repair. If the US were a corporation and had proper accounting, they would be 'Triple C, ' nobody would buy their bonds ," he pointed out.
"Having said that, in the near term I think the dollar could rally because the others are no better, the others are worse," said Faber. "I think that the dollar will rally now against the euro and against the pound sterling and probably against the yen."
The price of gold is likely to hover between $950 an ounce and $1050, he said, adding: "I doubt we'll go below 1,000."
Investing in stocks is the way forward, because they protect against inflation, according to Faber. Real estate would be another asset for those seeking protection against price rises, but it is easier to be taxed.
"I think both the US markets and Japan this year might outperform emerging markets," he said.
But long term the developed world is suffering because consumers are over-leveraged and China will remain competitive even if the value of its currency will double against the US dollar according to Faber, who is based in Southeast Asia.
"The goods markets in emerging economies are huge" while in the Western world, services have a big proportion of the economy, he said.
Some of the American states have deficits as high as 45 percent of their revenue and increasing taxes to cover the gaps is not likely to work because people would just move elsewhere or leave the US altogether, Faber said.
"When you look at the US… it's a total disaster, we're all doomed, we're doomed," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment