John M.Waggoner – Bailout

In Bailout, John Waggoner—the investment columnist for USAToday—answers these and other questions surrounding the recentmarket catastrophes. As the author explains, this was a differentkind of market panic. Bear Stearns didn’t collapse because itsstock was low—the company crumbled because no one would lendit money. The Federal Reserve then intervened, not because theywere worried about Bear Stearns, but because they feared a meltdownin the credit markets if Bear defaulted on its debt.

The dangers in this cycle, says Waggoner, could be bigger thanwe’ve seen in a long time. Investors need to act now in order toprotect their portfolios, and Waggoner shows how. The author offersspecific advice on protecting portfolio finances against bothinflation and deflation through the use of Treasury bonds, gold,commodities, and real estate. He explains the critical importanceof paying down debt—pointing out that paying down a 19% creditcard is the equivalent of getting a 19% return on an investment!And he offers a range of other strategies to help your portfolioweather a storm, including rebalancing and using foreigncurrencies—as well as identifying a few strategies toavoid.

Your ultimate protection, Waggoner explains, is to have a plan.Assume we’ll all get through this—you can’t predicate yourinvestment plan on everything crumbling. Start with the verybasics: set your investment goals and match your investments tothose goals. With step-by-step expert advice, Bailout will show youhow.