When Bubbles Burst

Why do stock and housing markets sometimes experience amazing booms followed by massive busts and why is this happening more and more frequently? Boom and Bust reveals why bubbles happen, and why some bubbles have catastrophic economic, social and political consequences, whilst others have actually benefited society.

Surviving the financial fallout John Calverley's new book is about understanding what's going on, how policy impinges on it, what investors can do and what is likely to happen. This extremely topical and timely new book from the well-known economist and Head of Research, Standard Chartered Bank is the first book to examine in depth the financial fallout of 2008 and explore the implications and solutions for individuals, companies and central banks. His previous book, Bubbles and How to Survive Them predicted the current financial situation. He warned vigorously of the danger from the housing bubble and warned that stock prices might take off again and reach vulnerable levels (as indeed occurred in 2006-7.) This essential readable, non-technical guide is essential reading for everyone and particularly for investment professionals everywhere. In this new book - an investor's survival kit - he: * Outlines the crises we now face and reviews how we got here. * Looks closely at the huge housing bubbles in UK and the US, as well as those in Australia, Spain, Japan and Hong Kong. * Explores the anatomy of bubbles and presents a checklist for identifying them. * Tells the story of how the housing bubble led to the current financial crisis and how far prices might fall, focusing on household debt as the value of household assets collapse. * Examines strategies for investors, who must try to avoid bubbles or, more dangerously, seek them out and ride them. * Reveals what will happen next.

The presence of speculative bubbles in capital markets (an important area of interest in financial history) is widely accepted across many circles. Talk of them is pervasive in the media and especially in the popular financial press. Bubbles are thought to be found primarily in the stock market, which is our main interest, although bubbles are said to occur in other markets. Bubbles go hand in hand with the notion that markets can be irrational. The academic community has a great interest in bubbles, and it has produced scholarly literature that is voluminous. For some economists, doing bubble research is like joining the vanguard of a Kuhnian paradigm shift in economic thinking. Not so fast. If bubbles did exist, they would pose a serious challenge to neoclassical finance. Bubbles would contradict the ideas that markets are rational or work in an informationally efficient manner. That’s what makes the topic of bubbles interesting. This book reviews and evaluates the academic literature as well as some popular investment books on the possible existence of speculative bubbles in the stock market. The main question is whether there is convincing empirical evidence that bubbles exist. A second question is whether the theoretical concepts that have been advanced for bubbles make them plausible. The reader will discover that I am skeptical that bubbles actually exist. But I do not think I or anyone else will ever be able to conclusively prove that there has never been a bubble. From studying the literature and from reading history, I find that many famous purported bubbles reflect inaccurate history or mistakes in analysis or simply cannot be shown to have existed. In other instances, bubbles might have existed. But in each of those cases, there are credible rational explanations. And good evidence exists for the idea that even if bubbles do exist, they are not of great importance to understanding the stock market.

A newly updated edition for the fast-changing real estate market in Canada! Over the last two decades Canadians have become convinced that real estate is the “safe haven” investment. This widely held belief and obsession with real estate led millions of Canadians to take on massive amounts of debt — tripling their collective financial burden — ensuring that Canada is one of the most indebted nations on the planet. Drawing on dozens of interviews and even more conversations with individual Canadians and couples, this second edition also tackles the economic conditions and regulatory rules that allowed such a dangerous situation to develop in Canada, formerly a nation of conservative and prudent citizens. Hilliard MacBeth argues that Canada is in the midst of an unprecedented real estate bubble and that there will soon be a crash in house prices, triggering a financial crisis. Individual Canadians and families can still take action to protect themselves from the fallout of the bubble bursting — if they act quickly.

A multi-disciplinary framework through which to spot financial bubbles before they burst. Based on a popular undergraduate seminar, entitled Financial Booms & Busts, taught by the author at Yale University, Boombustology presents a multi-disciplinary framework for identifying unsustainable booms and forthcoming busts. The magnitude of our recent financial crisis mandates a firm understanding of this phenomenon before the next crisis occurs. Boombustology provides an in-depth look at several major booms and busts and offers a solid framework for thinking about future occurrences. Examines why booms and busts are not random and can therefore be identified Focuses upon various theoretical and disciplinary lenses useful in the study of booms and busts Contains a framework for thinking about and identifying forthcoming financial bubbles including several tell-tale indicators of a forthcoming bust. Illustrates the framework in action by evaluating China as a potential bubble in the making. If you want to make better decisions in today’s turbulent investment environment, understanding the dynamics of booms and busts is the best place the start. Boombustology can help you achieve this elusive goal. Vikram Mansharamani is a Lecturer at Yale University and a global equity investor.

In Bursting Bubbles, Robert Walters takes us on a journey to visit Champagne's great growers. Along the way, he reveals a secret history of Champagne and dispels many of the myths that still persist about this celebrated wine style. Controversial and ground breaking, Bursting Bubbles will change the way you think about Champagne.

An original board book featuring the bestselling Narwhal and Jelly! Everyone's favorite underwater duo explore bubbles in the world wide waters in this silly story perfect for the youngest readers and fans. "Hilarious and charming. The most lovable duo since Frog and Toad." --NYT-bestselling creator of the Dog Man and Captain Underpants series, Dav Pilkey Dive into a brand new Narwhal and Jelly story for the youngest readers! When Narwhal accidentally bursts Jelly's bubble with their tusk-tooth, Jelly is a little sad . . . until Narwhal shows him that there are lots of bubbles in the ocean! There are little-bitty bubbles and great big bubbles. There are bubbles up high and bubbles down low. There are bubbles that are pink and bubbles that stink. It's unbelieva-bubble! This charming board book celebrates the power of imagination and play, and is perfect for both fans of the Narwhal and Jelly graphic novel series and readers new to the world wide waters.

This book deals at some length with the question: Since there are many more poor than rich, why don’t the poor just tax the rich heavily and reduce the inequality? In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the topic of inequality was discussed widely. Ending or reducing inequality was a prime motivating factor in the emergence of communism and socialism. The book discusses why later in the 20th century, inequality has faded out as an issue. Extensive tables and graphs of data are presented showing the extent of inequality in America, as well as globally. It is shown that a combination of low taxes on capital gains contributed to a series of real estate and stock bubbles that provided great wealth to the top tiers, while real income for average workers stagnated. Improved commercial efficiency due to computers, electronics, the Internet and fast transport allowed production and distribution with fewer workers, just as the advent of electrification, mechanization, production lines, vehicles and trains in the 1920s and 1930s produced the same stagnating effect.