Bailout – John M.Waggoner

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In Bailout, John Waggoner answers the essential questions surrounding recent market catastrophes—from the failure of Bear Stearns to the credit crisis—and reveals how you can protect your portfolio during these turbulent times. Waggoner offers a wide range of strategies to help your portfolio weather this storm, including rebalancing and using foreign currencies, and discusses how Treasury bonds, gold, commodities, and real estate can solidify your financial standing. With the expert advice found here, you’ll quickly discover what it takes to achieve safety and success in today’s volatile market.

Review

“USA TODAY investment columnist John Waggoner provides sensible, specific steps to help investors navigate through…the volatile financial markets likely to continue for the months ahead.” (USA Today)

From the Back Cover

What You Can Learn From The Meltdown In The Credit Markets AndThe Collapse Of Bear Stearns

Panics in the stock market are nothing new—so what makesthe recent events surrounding the credit crisis and Bear Stearnscollapse so worrisome? More importantly, what does it mean to youas an individual investor?

In Bailout, John Waggoner—the investment columnistfor USA Today—sheds light on the causes of the Bear Stearnscollapse and the credit crunch, while offering a glimpse of whatthe future holds for investors. The fall of Bear Stearns, saysWaggoner, signals a new era. Warning readers of the perils that lieahead—specifically inflation and debt liquidation—heprovides solid strategies for investors who want to beginprotecting their portfolios. He explains step-by-step how to setshort- and long-term investment goals and match your investments tothose goals, creating a portfolio that can weather any storm.

From paying off debt to investing in treasury securities, thestrategies laid out in Bailout will guide you to safety andsuccess in today’s volatile market.

From the Inside Flap

In March of 2008, the world markets woke up to the news thatBear Stearns, the fifth-largest U.S. investment bank, hadessentially collapsed. The fall of Bear Stearns nearly crippled theshort-term money market, the lifeblood of modern finance. Banklending ground to a halt. Municipal financing, which pays forroads, schools, and other daily essentials, evaporated. Thecompany’s fall changed the way the government regulates WallStreet, and it shook the faith of investors to the core. How didthis happen? How will it affect the future of the markets? Whatdoes it mean for the individual investor?

In Bailout, John Waggoner—the investment columnist for USAToday—answers these and other questions surrounding the recentmarket catastrophes. As the author explains, this was a differentkind of market panic. Bear Stearns didn’t collapse because itsstock was low—the company crumbled because no one would lendit money. The Federal Reserve then intervened, not because theywere worried about Bear Stearns, but because they feared a meltdownin the credit markets if Bear defaulted on its debt.

The dangers in this cycle, says Waggoner, could be bigger thanwe’ve seen in a long time. Investors need to act now in order toprotect their portfolios, and Waggoner shows how. The author offersspecific advice on protecting portfolio finances against bothinflation and deflation through the use of Treasury bonds, gold,commodities, and real estate. He explains the critical importanceof paying down debt—pointing out that paying down a 19% creditcard is the equivalent of getting a 19% return on an investment!And he offers a range of other strategies to help your portfolioweather a storm, including rebalancing and using foreigncurrencies—as well as identifying a few strategies toavoid.

Your ultimate protection, Waggoner explains, is to have a plan.Assume we’ll all get through this—you can’t predicate yourinvestment plan on everything crumbling. Start with the verybasics: set your investment goals and match your investments tothose goals. With step-by-step expert advice, Bailout will show youhow.