Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit In The Next Global Financial Meltdown, Second Edition

How the Bursting Bubbles Will Impact the World

Although all the economies of the world will suffer as the current Bubblequake recession deepens into the coming Aftershock mega-depression, some regions will do better than others. Similar to reactions to flu, those who are healthier and stronger before trouble hits tend to hold up better under stress. Here’s what we see ahead.

Europe and Japan

As mentioned earlier, the U.S. economy will fare best in the Bubblequake and Aftershock, followed by the countries of Europe and Japan, which have larger shares of their economies devoted to exports than we do, and so will be hit harder when their exports radically decline.

At the same time, Europe and Japan will have to continue to import some goods from other countries, although far less than before. Much more than the United States, Europe, and Japan will continue to import food and energy. To keep manufactured imports to a minimum, these countries will enact protectionist tariffs to protect what remains of their manufacturing industries, and higher taxes on food and energy, slowing the flow of imports into their countries. This will naturally decrease other countries’ exports to Europe and Japan even further than they will have already fallen, adding to the already negative downward spiral for the overall world economy.

Because their export industries will be so hard hit across the board, Europe and Japan will suffer very high unemployment, again with that multiplier effect mentioned earlier, ...