Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes

by Michael J. Panzner

Book Overview

From desperate interest rate cuts and chaos in global financial markets to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and a fast-crumbling tower of public and private debt, Wall Street insider Michael J. Panzner... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 141959608X
• ISBN13: 9781419596087
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A guidebook for the future

Like its topical namesake in the book of Revelation, Financial Armageddon describes tragic calamities at our doorstep. Given the recent developments in our economy, it has come time to talk about when and how the economic collapse will occur, not if. In what may very well become a prophetic manual for the way our economy will collapse and touch every facet of our lives, Panzner's Financial Armageddon spells out in detail how he sees the fabric of our financial lives unraveling based on factors and circumstances beyond our control. The basic synopsis he offers is that "the United States will soon suffer the fallout of the live-for-today orgy of borrowing and extravagance that has already foisted an untenable economic and financial burden on future generations. (page 3)" While Financial Armageddon might read as "doom and gloom" to some, it will be seen increasingly as a valuable asset - a guidebook for what may soon come - for those who wish to plan their financial future wisely and minimize risk. Those who desire to keep smelling roses and ignoring the signs of the times will be the first to suffer, for it is those who plan wisely and prepare for the future that are least impacted by external circumstances. It is for those who desire to understand how our economy will likely unravel that Mr. Panzner has written Financial Armageddon. I suggest picking up a copy in an effort to understand what the future may very well hold.

eyes WIDE open!

As I have always been gloom and doom in my outlook of this nation and my life has been spent preparing for one type of disaster or another (Y2K ect..) I can say that I've been proven wrong more than not. I do however believe in the the boy scout motto "BE PREPARED" and it has served me well. This book opens ones eyes to the smoke and mirrors that the Gov't,Big money, and the privately owned FED reserve try to serve up to an un-careing or un-informed populace and does so in a clear and understandable text. I implore anyone who want's another angle on our economy besides the Main Stream media to read this book. Hope for the best but be prepared for what this book outlines and you'll be a winner either way.

Written in plain terms, and notable for its painstakingly clear definitions

Written by New York Institute of Finance faculty member Michael J. Panzer, Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future From Four Impending Catastrophes is a dire warning of the four most severe financial risks confronting Americans today. Private and public debt has been climbing to record levels; the aging population is putting so much pressure on Social Security that eventually retirement will be simply a hopeless mirage; systemic overindulgence in "hedge funds" and other house-of-cards derivatives that depend on assets losing their value to make a profit place negative pressures on the economy. Financial Armageddon does not pull punches in its warnings of doom and gloom, and what raw economic realities can potentially inflict upon Americans everywhere, yet its greatest asset is its solidly practical advice for preparing for the worst. From the importance of prioritizing maintenance investitures over acquisitional investitures (skipping the regular tune-up of a car is more likely to cause more expense further down the line) to knowing when to spend and when to hold off (it's valuable to buy up tangible and practical commodities such as nonperishable food when the threat of hyperinflation reigns, but not when prices are falling), to the singularly invaluable sentiment of "Trust but verify" - the importance of utilizing the internet to thoroughly check out the credentials and track records of any individual or institution with whom one is considering a financial relationship. Written in plain terms, and notable for its painstakingly clear definitions of terms like "derivatives" that cause many a lay reader's eyes to glaze over, "Financial Armageddon" is a must-read for anyone in the unfortunate modern era of ballooning fiscal irresponsibility, not to mention outright swindles. Highly recommended.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Part One of this book offers a brief overview of four financial threats the author suggests Americans will be facing in the near future. This is the mild stuff. What follows, in Parts Two and Three, is a very disturbing "worst case" scenario of what life might be like for the average American once these four threats hit home. We could be facing a full-fledged systemic economic breakdown. And we will each be on our own. There is no certainty that we can count on Social Security; retirement pensions; Medicare, or financial institutions to save us. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There will be fallout from dozens of other disasters headed our way as society begins unraveling. We need to start taking immediate steps to educate and protect ourselves. Part Four of the book offers some advice on how to do just that. This is an intense read. It is fascinating in somewhat the same way a trainwreck is fascinating. I couldn't put it down.

Gripping, terrifying and informing

Financial Armageddon presents an alarming discussion of the Four Horsemen riding towards the U.S economy. Panzner has turned what might seem dry or inaccessible subjects - i.e derivatives, deficits, pension liabilities - into a tale even the layest of laymen can understand. Some will suggest it goes overboard in it's pessimism (hyper-inflation? widespread beggary and pestilence?) but even if it does it scarcely begins to offset the institutionalised optimism pumped out in the popular media. However the book is not just doom and gloom, it also provides concrete ideas on how individuals can prepare themselves and their investments. If even a fraction of Panzner's predictions come to pass investors will be grateful for the recommendations contained in this book. Read it and come away disturbed, but informed.