Ten people who predicted the financial meltdown

from the Times Online - Money Central

1. Vince Cable - deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats
November 2003: “The growth of the British economy is sustained by consumer spending pinned against record levels of personal debt, which is secured, if at all, against house prices that the Bank of England describes as well above equilibrium level. What action will the Chancellor take on the problem of consumer debt?”




2. Christopher Wood – chief strategist of CLSA, a broking firm in the Asia-Pacific Market.

October 2005: "Investors should sell all exposure to the American mortgage securities market."
2007: "Some institutions have been behaving like leveraged speculators rather than banks… The UK economy is heading for a sharp shock. It just remains to be seen how bad."

3. Founders of www.stock-market-crash.net




4. Henry Weingarten - astrologer, head of the Astrologers Fund





5. Nouriel Roubini - economics professor

On September 7, 2006, at an International Monetary Fund meeting, he announced that a crisis was brewing.

6. Nikolai Kondratiev - Russian economist
In the early 1920s, he predicted an imminent dip, and he was proved right with the Wall Street Crash in 1929. The current crisis may mean he is about 10 years out – but, still, not a bad prediction for a man who died in 1938.

7. Founders of Housepricecrash.co.uk – property website
In October 2003, its founders predicted “one of the potentially biggest economic boom bust events in living memory” was coming.

8. Lord Oakeshott - Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman
He warne the government of the possible collapse of Icelandic banks back in July: "What steps [have] the United Kingdom financial authorities taken to satisfy themselves, independently of the Icelandic financial authorities, of the solvency and stability of Icelandic banks taking deposits in the United Kingdom?”

9. Stephen Roach - senior executive at Morgan Stanley
In November 2004, Mr Roach predicted an “economic Armageddon”.

10. Ron Paul - Republican Congressman - and Peter Schiff, his economic advisor
Back in September 2003, Mr Paul told a House Financial Services Committee that: “Ironically, by transferring the risk of a widespread mortgage default, the government increases the likelihood of a painful crash in the housing market.This is because the special privileges granted to Fannie and Freddie have distorted the housing market by allowing them to attract capital they could not attract under pure market conditions."

Labels: debt, Stock market, United States