The Money Compass: Where Your Money Went and How to Get It Back

Appendix: The Grimaldi Forecasts

To build credibility regarding my forecast of a 2014 recession, I provide excerpts from a number of articles I wrote before and after the Great Recession.a Articles have been edited for editorial style to ensure consistency, but the content has not changed. As you’ll see, I had begun to see the cracks developing in the U.S. economy as early as January 2008. I hope you’ll read these excerpts because they were written in real time, without the benefit of hindsight. My commentary below each excerpt will show you that my forecasts about what the so-called Great Recession would look like were pretty accurate. Seeing that, I believe you’ll listen more carefully to my advice on how to best navigate the 2014 recession.

January 2008 Navigator Newsletters

From the Crow’s Nest: “Looking Over the Bow”

“What’s in store for 2008?” I wrote in this newsletter article. “The first half of 2008 will be a continuation of the conditions that dominated the second half of 2007: housing woes, credit crunch, lower interest rates, inflation concerns, and market volatility.”

Navigator outlook #1: Home prices continue to drop. The government bailout plan backfires.

I wrote, “Credit is going to be hard to get, and this will decrease the number of eligible homebuyers that are in the market. Fewer buyers will mean less demand, which, in turn, will equate to lower purchase offers.”

Looking back, here’s why I was right: Later that year, in a December 1, 2008, press release, Freddie ...