subject: Why Japan's Earthquake Will Slaughter Many U.S. Investors [print this page] Why Japan's Earthquake Will Slaughter Many U.S. Investors
I know it may seem hard-hearted to consider economic consequences when the dead are yet to be cremated. I have family in Japan (who thankfully survived).However, 40 years of experience in financial markets has taught me that if you're an investor, as long as markets never rest, neither can you.
If you're not prepared for the impact this earthquake is having on financial markets, you WILL feel the ripple effects of Japan's disaster in your portfolio.
Japan is now the first country ever to experience the combination of earthquake, tsunami and now nuclear meltdown.
While the human tragedy is happening on the other side of the world, the financial tragedy is going to strike here at home as well. Consider this
The initial damage estimate is $60-$120 billion a number that will certainly rise.
Japan's government required that 95% of commercial earthquake insurance be written OUTSIDE JAPAN.
This means 95% of Japan's commercial earthquake risk is on the books of the U.S., Europe and other countries NOT Japan.
If you want to know how this disaster will affect your investments stocks, ETFs, bonds, oil, commodities, precious metals and currencies, click here to view this EMERGENCY WEBINAR for investors.
All manufacturing in the most economically vital region of Japan has been closed down. Every major Japanese company has shut down all domestic production. Management wants to conduct emergency safety reviews, tally death tolls and total damage to plants and equipment.
In any case, most employees are unable to get to work because of the complete shutdown of the rail system. Why does it matter for investors?
Japan is the 3rd largest economy in the world behind the U.S. and China.
The immediate economic effect on Japan is the GDP growth rate is going to instantly flip from +2% to -3%, a swing of -5%, similar to what we saw after the Kobe earthquake in 1995.
This will ripple through international trade as Japan imports over $571 BILLION of goods, and it exports over $665 BILLION with countries like Australia, the U.S. and China being major trade partners.
Bottom line: You're going to feel this disaster in your portfolio, if you're not prepared.
That's why I conducted this emergency webinar to get investors up to speed on what to do to protect themselves.
Make no mistake; the events in Japan ARE ALREADY impacting your investments.
This is a watershed moment in financial markets. If you have any money in global stocks, bonds, ETFs, commodities, currencies or metals your investment is already being affected by this disaster. The worst is yet to come.
My name is John Thomas, and I know Japan and how it fits into world financial markets better than most of my colleagues on Wall Street. Here's why:
I founded Wall Street's original dedicated international hedge fund a fund which I launched with a Japanese focus.
I'm the former director of Swiss Bank Corp in charge of Japanese equity derivatives.
I was the vice president heading up trading of Japanese equity derivatives in Europe and the Middle East.
I spent 10 years at Morgan Stanley, where my clients included titans like Paul Tudor Jones and George Soros.
I also spent my early years in financial markets as the Tokyo correspondent for The Economist and The Financial Times.
I started my financial career as an analyst in Japan at Dai Nana Securities.
Currently, I run a very successful hedge fund navigating today's volatile markets.
Over the last few days, I've been on the phone as much as possible talking to friends in Japan's financial centers, dazed survivors of the quake, who are clearly terrified of what's coming.
Click here to watch this free emergency webinar where I'll be sharing the urgent steps you need to take right now to protect your portfolio.
Wall Street has always known that "a big one" would hit Japan someday, and the various scenarios and market impacts were thought out a long time ago. All that remained was to pull them off the shelf, dust them off and see how much still applied today.
If you've got money in the market, you've got skin in this game. I urge you to make sure you know what's coming. Click here now for my full analysis.
The faint-hearted may want to watch all of this unfold from the sidelines, and say a prayer for their good fortune that they are not one of thousands picking their way through the rubble this week, looking for the battered and lifeless bodies of loved ones.
