Jim Rogers: Many Nations Will Have to Go Bankrupt

Wednesday, 09 Nov 2011 08:41 AM
By Forrest Jones

Economic crises in Europe and elsewhere will escalate and inflict heavy casualties on the global economy, and the only path to survival for many countries is to declare bankruptcy, says international investor Jim Rogers.

"The world is in trouble. The world has been spending staggering amounts of money that it doesn't have for a few decades now, and it's all coming home to roost," Rogers tells CNBC.

"Get everyone in a room and decide you will go bankrupt. You will survive and we're going to ringfence you. We'll make sure your checks clear. Everyone's deposits are going to be okay, the system's going to survive."

The crisis, meanwhile, will likely get worse.

"In 2002 it was bad, in 2008 it was worse and 2012 or 2013 is going to be worse still – be careful."

Despite such dire predictions, Rogers, a noted commodities bull, says he's been snapping up currencies, including the euro and dollar.

" My theory is that if things get better I will make money in commodities, and if they don't get better I'll make money in commodities because they'll print more money and stocks will be going down a lot."

The European debt crisis continues to roil markets worldwide, and leaders are putting increasing pressure on Europe to navigate the global economy to calmer waters.

"Our sense is that if we do not act boldly and if we do not act together, the economy around the world runs the risk of downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability and potential collapse of global demand ... we could run the risk of what some commentators are already calling the lost decade," says Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, according to Reuters.

http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/Rog ... /id/417379