Among the brigade of economists and investment strategists a depressing idea has been gaining traction in recent years, one we might call the Japanification of the Anglo Saxon world.
In plain English, we have all borrowed too much and we are now doomed to follow in the wake of the Japanese, with low or non-existent growth rates, dismal equity market returns over the long term, and constantly increasing gilt prices as interest rates remain stubbornly low. Yet among a hard core of economists, this painful prospect is actually viewed as the OPTIMISTIC outcome – truly dismal types think the US economy is actually in even worse shape. Remember, Japan is only now working its way through a painful process, prompted by truly heroic over-investment in fixed equipment and in...
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