Stocks set to slideGuru watch

Felix Zulauf, the founder and head of Zulauf Asset Management, is "seldom wrong" about markets, says Wirtschafts-woche. His warning in 2008 of trouble ahead for the wider economy proved prescient. Today, Zulauf is still gloomy.

With monetary policy having no impact on demand in debt-soaked economies, and fiscal policy now "contractive, not expansive", the outlook for growth is clouding over, he says in Barron's. Given their weak fundamentals, "economies around the world most likely will be in recession next year". Longer term, the growth outlook is discouraging as we have so far failed to "bite the bullet" and tackle our massive debt load. "We have begun "the Japanification of the western world".

As for stocks, the S&P 500 is set to fall below its recent lows in the autumn. "Once the S&P falls under 1,000" or so next year, the US Federal Reserve will attempt to ride to the rescue again with more liquidity. With confidence in our currencies, policymakers and central banks are "going down the drain", says Zulauf, while gold will climb. "Own a lot" of it, "and don't have debts".

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