The three men who predicted the economic collapse in 2007/2008 in the first place are now foreseeing the Cyprus crisis hitting developed and developing nations across the globe. Marc Faber, Peter Schiff and Jim Rogers are all weighing in on this tumultuous instance.
Marc Faber, finance guru and publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, believes what transpired last month in the island nation of Cyprus will occur in more countries around the world, including in developed nations.
Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Tuesday, Faber reiterated Jim Rogers’s insights into the Cyprus situation, whereby financial institutions, central banks and governments will get the same concept and rationalize the measures by citing Cyprus.
When it happens in Western democracies, according to Faber, bank depositors and investors could lose as much as 30 percent of their wealth because “you have more people that vote for a living than work for a living.” He added that people would be “lucky if you don’t lose your life.”
“If you look at what happened in Cyprus, basically people with money will lose part of their wealth, either through expropriation or higher taxation,” explained Faber. “The problem is that 92 percent of financial wealth is owned by 5 percent of the population. The majority of people don’t own meaningful stock positions and they don’t benefit from a rise in the stock market. They are being hurt by a rising cost of living and we all know that the real incomes of median households have been going down for the last few years.”
Interviewed by the same network, Rogers stated last week that bank depositors should “run for the hills” and warned that if the public listened to the government then they have a higher chance of going bankrupt.
“The IMF has said ‘sure, loot the bank accounts’ the EU has said ‘loot the bank accounts’ so you can be sure that other countries when problems come, are going to say, ‘well, it’s condoned by the EU, it’s condoned by the IMF, so let’s do it too,” said Rogers.
Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, wrote an op-ed this week titled “Cypriots in the Streets.” Schiff opines that the Federal Reserve is already seizing the wealth in Americans’ bank accounts through the means of inflation.
“As I have previously written, through Anti-Money Laundering and other regulations, Washington has already erected a financial Berlin Wall around us. The only escape is to pull our savings from the fiat financial system,” wrote the former Republican Senate candidate. “While barter and high-tech alternatives compete for the attention of the newly “unbanked,” I believe individuals, institutions, and governments are re-learning that gold and silver are the ultimate monetary assets. With every shock to the fiat system, more investors awaken to this fundamental truth.”
Cyprus Updates
It was announced Tuesday that Cyprus Finance Minister Michalis Sarris resigned from his post. The confirmation came after President Nicos Anastasiades established an investigation by three former Supreme Court judges. Sarris noted that he wanted to make the investigation easier for officials.
The new finance minister will be former Labor Minister Harris Georgiades. Commerce Ministry Permanent Secretary Zeta Emilianidou will take over the duties as labor minister.
The Cyprus deal has been finalized and the country will receive a 10 billion euro ($12.8 billion) bailout, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that it will provide one billion euros ($1.34 billion), or about 10 percent, of the package.
“The Cypriot authorities have put forward an ambitious, multi-year reform program to address the economic challenges they face. The overarching goals are to stabilize the financial system, achieve fiscal sustainability, and support the recovery of economic activity to preserve the welfare of the population,” said Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, in a press release.
“This is a challenging program that will require great efforts from the Cypriot population. We believe that it provides a durable and fully financed solution to the underlying problems facing Cyprus and provides a sustainable path toward a recovery.”
Shit…we’re in the!