Cashing in on the Crisis of Capitalism read online. Dmitry Khotimsky - Let's cash in on the crisis of capitalism ... or Where to invest money correctly

Gold can be purchased only in special cases: when it is critically cheaper or when everyone is panicky afraid of hyperinflation.

In 1971, President Nixon abolished the rule that the United States guaranteed anyone willing to exchange dollars for gold at a fixed price of $ 35 an ounce. The dollar began to depreciate rapidly, and prices rose uncontrollably. To insure their savings against inflation, investors bought gold at ever-increasing prices. Panic peaked in the early 1980s. Inflation was double-digit.

There will be questions about where exactly to invest money - go to the website of the Institute of Global Investments (www.igi.info) - we will discuss how to cash in on the crisis of capitalism.

A "good" investment is when you can buy more and more services from other people every day. As the song says: “I want each of us to earn 100 times more! But at the same time, the prostitutes asked for exactly the same amount per hour as now. "

The "nominal" price reflects the value of the goods, expressed in monetary units. The "real" price indicates how much labor can be bought for that money. In conditions of depreciation of money and growth in the value of labor, it often turns out that the nominal price of a commodity rises, while its real value falls.

It can be stated that technological progress has led to an almost fifty-fold drop in the actual price of rubber (100/2 = 50). Incidentally, this is the most dramatic drop in prices in the category of industrial goods as a whole.

It happened even despite the fact that during the 20th century, rubber consumption increased 400 times, and its prices over the past decade have increased 10 times. When I first researched this question in 2001, the fall in rubber prices over 100 years relative to wages was 500 times!

We have seen from numerous examples that advancing technologies are constantly decreasing the value of natural resources and most goods. How do you invest?

Price exclusive goods depends solely on the purchasing power of buyers, while the cost of goods in the "mass market" category is largely governed by the prices of similar products.

Without experiencing competitive pressure from sellers of substitute goods, the owner of an exclusive can always get the maximum price for his product.

It is very important that the value of exclusive goods is protected from inflation. If the amount of money in the world grows sharply, then the opportunities for buyers grow along with it. Accordingly, the cost of rare items also increases.

Stories of "falling pearls" at the beginning of the 20th century, when the invented technology of growing artificial pearls irrevocably reduced the value of natural pearls.

There was no drop in oil prices due to technological progress, despite a significant drop in production costs. Monopoly goods are similar to exclusive goods in that the supply in both cases is limited.

In the nine years from 2003 to 2011, the amount of money in the United States, Europe, Japan and China more than doubled, from $ 21 trillion to $ 43 trillion. This is approximately 9% of the annual increase.

Population growth

Over the past hundred years, we have quadrupled. Below is an illustration of the historical population growth of the planet.

Today, the world's population is growing by 1% annually.

Given the “scale of the tragedy,” we need to understand what effect population growth has on the prices and profitability of various investments.

Inflation = Wage Growth (WG) - Pond Productivity Growth (PWG)

Let's remember again that:

Wage growth (WG) = Money supply growth (RDM) - Population growth (RN)

Combining the two formulas, we get:

Inflation = RDM - RN - RPT

In the United States, money supply growth is 7% per year. Population growth - 1%. Labor productivity growth - 2%. Inflation with such indicators should be on average 4%:

4 % = 7 % – 2 % – 1 %

Our formula shows that the main reason for the rise in prices in the long term is the increase in the amount of money in the hands of the population.

In the 16th century, a significant influx of gold and silver from the New World led to dramatic changes in the European economy. Coins were minted from the new metal.

In Germany and France, prices rose no less rapidly.

This moment in history is called price revolution... He clearly showed how the growth of the money supply leads to a widespread increase in prices. And now a very important point.

The new wealth, oddly enough, made the poor even poorer. Gold just didn't reach them. It was divided among themselves by nobles and monarchs.

In Seville, through which almost all the precious metal was imported, a huge number of vagabonds, beggars, thieves and women of easy virtue appeared.

So, first of all, the unprotected part of the population always suffers from inflation. But the bankers love her very much. After all, all the new money comes first of all at their disposal. In addition, inflation significantly reduces the number of bad loans.

Return on good investments ≥ Wage growth ≈ Price increase for luxury goods = Inflation + 2%

to maintain the usual level of consumption and social status, a rich person constantly needs to increase his capital faster than the rate of inflation.

A key example for understanding the current crisis in Europe: The Germans, on a subconscious level, have a fear of a repeat of the events of 1923. They are terrified of printing money. But the Americans, on the contrary, are horrified by the prospect of a repeat of the Great Depression of 1929 - and therefore, at the slightest hint of a crisis, they print money with all their might.

Berezovsky made more than one hundred million dollars from the first batch of 35,000 cars alone.

Deposit rate = РЗ - РПТ - Banks' income

RZ - Salary growth

RPT - Labor productivity growth

Today, to be " passive "investor already extremely unprofitable... It is necessary to actively invest money. But doing this with minimal risk is not easy. You just have to learn to never invest in businesses that do not have a competitive edge. This strategy will save you tons of time and money.

The concept of "profitability" directly depends on what exactly is the constraint for the business. (While that was your time, Masha was considered a more profitable client, but as soon as there was a problem with the supply of the drug, Lyuba became it).

Investors need to understand well what is the constraint on the growth of the global economy.

Will oil ever run out or not? The answer to this question is fundamentally important for oil-producing countries.

Example 2002. Export of palladium from the country will be limited. Metal prices began to skyrocket, and soon palladium was worth more than platinum.

It was at this moment that Ford decided to play it safe and buy a rare metal for future use. The idea was unsuccessful. Soon, prices fell 75%. One can imagine the surprise of Ford shareholders when they were told that they lost $ 1 billion in precious metals.

“The basis of the character of Monsieur Bonacieux was the deepest selfishness combined with desperate avarice, seasoned with the greatest cowardice

Investors need to be on the lookout at all times. They must take into account all the factors that can provoke a crisis. They need to understand exactly when this can happen and what will happen to their assets in this case.

The Crisis from a Game Theory Perspective

Throughout the entire crisis period, the selfish behavior of individuals leads to losses for the entire society as a whole. This phenomenon is explored by game theory.

This statement can be illustrated using the so-called prisoners' dilemmas known as prisoner's dilemma. This is a famous paradox that shows that selfishness is not always the most profitable strategy.

The prisoners begin to testify against each other - and, of course, they are sent in stages, receiving five years for each.

The same effect occurs during a crisis. The selfishness of market participants leads to the collapse of the system and aggravates the position of all actors.

Aggregate debt was almost double the volume of world GDP

It is impossible to pay them. In the future, we expect either growing inflation, or very low interest rates, or massive defaults, accompanied by a fall in world GDP. You need to be ready for any of the scenarios and try to benefit from them.

If, on average, the debts of citizens exceed their annual income, the situation becomes dangerous.

Rising real estate prices

You also need to monitor property prices. If they grow much faster than salaries, it is very dangerous.

As an indicator of current affairs, you can focus on Baltic Dry Index... It tracks the cost of sea freight. If world trade is booming, there are not enough ships and prices will soar. During the crisis, the volume of traffic drops sharply, ships are not chartered and prices drop significantly.

Instead of being scattered about diversifying your funds, it's better to take your time and make one smart investment.

Better to buy one store in a good location than stocks of ten obscure companies.

In 2000, I even gave my brother an option to drop the Amazon.com share price. However, time has shown that competitive advantage is more important than any debt... Amazon.com has not only stayed afloat - it has become one of the most successful companies in the global Internet market.

Leverage

Imagine that you are a Formula 1 racer. On a straight line, you need to pick up maximum speed, and brake before turning. You can't go too fast - you won't fit into the turn. You can't go too slow - everyone will overtake you. Now imagine that you don't know where all these turns are. And then you get a real world investment model.

In this world, the twists and turns are real crises. And with the gas pedal - the very leverage, that is, financial leverage.

Sometimes too much leverage simply does not allow an investor to live to a happy ending - the very moment when his assumptions about the market finally come true.

At one time, we actively traded oil spreads. They bought gasoline and sold oil at the same time. Naturally, the leverage was serious, which is typical for futures trading.

We lost money comically, but revealingly. One fine day, gasoline turned out to be 10% cheaper than oil. This, of course, went beyond common sense. After all, gasoline processing costs a lot of money. The loss amounted to 95% of the initial investment. We have no money left for zaloga - margin call

Naturally, soon gasoline again became more expensive than oil, but our business project did not last until that day.

Another important tip: never increase your leverage for joy!

The real talent of a developer lies not in building well, but in the ability to masterfully establish a negotiation process with banks when they come to take everything away.

Known to the public Donald Trump went broke twice... But every time I managed to negotiate with banks on the prolongation and restructuring of loans

"Mendeleev table"

Now we will present all the characteristics of investments mentioned above in a tabular form. This will be the same "periodic table", each row of which corresponds to a certain type of investment, and each column - to one of its properties.

Such a table will help investors make informed decisions. Also, with its help, it is easy to make different combinations of investments, which will always provide you with decent returns with acceptable risks.

At the beginning of 2009, bonds of the Russian Standard Bank, which is engaged in consumer lending, could be bought for a third of the face value. They traded at 33 cents per dollar of debt. Everyone feared that clients would not repay loans due to the crisis. Nevertheless, after a meeting with the bank's management, it became clear that he had no chance of going broke.

Sovcombank bought a package of bonds of Russian Credit for $ 20 million. A year later, when fears subsided, bonds were again worth 100%

Service Corporation is the world's largest funeral company. Her motto was the phrase: "Every newborn is our client." Such is the harsh truth of life. This company will definitely not go broke. Their bonds, which yielded 6%, are a 100% way to earn decent interest. While banks paid almost nothing on deposits, it was a great investment.

Bonds during the crisis

If you are lucky and have cash at the beginning of the crisis, you can become rich.

The main idea when buying shares is as follows. You need to buy:

Competitive advantages ... at a good price ...

And only at a favorable moment from the point of view of macroeconomics.

In the reality gains and losses corporations at 90% are determined external circumstances... This is clearly visible in a crisis, when corporations are suffering losses, and management ceases to understand what happened to their great business plans. In reality, managers are needed only to make their enterprises look worthy in the competition. However, their work does not in any way affect the overall level of corporate income.

In the movie "Time", the rich do not just earn all the money - they also manage to lend it to the poor for frantic interest. Interestingly, the currency in the film was not dollars, but the hours of life. This is very similar to our concept that the true value is not paper, but the services of other people - count their time.

In the absence of love, the consumption of luxury fades away. Why should women dress up if they are not interested in men? Why do men need expensive cars if they don't want to win the hearts of women? When all this becomes unnecessary, people begin to be content with little. But as soon as the "beautiful life" stops, business also stops, capitalism dies and a great world war begins. So love is the basis and foundation of our whole life, and the economy is just its pleasant reflection.

In 2001, everyone believed that the Internet would revolutionize the world and that corporate revenues would skyrocket. But we know that there is no direct link between technological progress and profit. In the end, everything was fine with the Internet, but the market soon collapsed.

A stock has a "good" price if the P / E is below the historical average (over the past 20 years, the average P / E was 20, which meant a return of 5% per year). That being said, stocks are worth buying only if they generate more income than bonds.

It turned out that the rise in the value of houses in Amsterdam almost coincided with the rise in prices for other goods. During the period under review, prices grew faster than inflation. During the period under review, prices grew faster than inflation by only 0.5%. It is also very interesting that prices could rise for decades and then fall over the same long period. Everything was conditioned by crises and ups in the economy. In particular, real estate prices fell sharply during the wars and the plague.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to understand from the materials of the book how the income from renting houses correlated with the costs of maintaining them in good condition.

If rental income significantly exceeds depreciation costs, then buying a residential property is a good investment. However, one should not count on the growth in the cost of apartments and houses. Their price is largely determined by economic cycles and therefore unpredictable.

IKEA buys huge tracts of land. Part of each plot is used to build your own store. The rest of the land is for sale. Moreover, at a price many times higher than the original cost. This price increase is due to the fact that IKEA attracts a huge number of buyers. Other retailers are happy to build in the neighborhood.

Moscow in the 1930s was located within the Third Ring Road. The radius of this ring is five kilometers. By the 2000s, the city expanded by another 15 km in all directions. But it took 70 years!

The Hunt brothers became famous for bringing the entire silver market to its knees in 1980. Since the early 1970s, they have been purposefully buying silver around the world. The price has risen from $ 2 to $ 50 per ounce in 10 years. But they continued to buy, attracting credit funds. Everything ended as usual - "the greed of the frayer ruined."

When the exchange banned new purchases of silver, its price fell five times at once. The brothers lost $ 1.5 billion and were forced to sell all the accumulated metal.

art7.com has been promoting young artists for many years. The most interesting and promising in modern painting she thought was the nude direction. Beautiful pictures of naked women have always been very popular. Sergey Marshennikov

A unique $ 20 gold coin from the 1930s is called the Double Eagle. In the 30s, the rejection of the principle of the gold standard led to the withdrawal from circulation of all gold coins, and almost all "double eagles" were sent to be melted down. Ten coins were stolen, 9 were found.

After playing options a couple of years, I came to the conclusion that they only confuse investors... Good ideas can be realized without them.

Invest strategy for the next few years.

The two main parameters that influence the choice of investments are world profits and world inflation.

Depending on the future dynamics of these indicators, recommendations change as to what should be bought at the current moment.

It makes sense to buy gold in anticipation of strong inflation amid falling profits. This movement is southeast. A similar scenario is called stagflation.

First class real estate, as we can see, is always in price!

Unlike 50 years ago, all scientific thought is concentrated in large corporations. State scientific institutions do little serious research. Therefore, if there are no international companies in the country, then there are no scientific developments.

There will be no big price increases in the world. Reserves will be saved from it - high unemployment, immigration, accumulated stocks, incomplete equipment loading. In addition, as usual, prices will decline due to technological advances.

Lack of educated personnel. Where to get them in sufficient quantities is unclear. So the wages of educated people will continue to rise.

Apartments in new territories

Today there are no problems to build any number of new housing. There is vacant land, unemployed builders and idle construction equipment. So the price of apartments in new cities will not rise.

Apartments in cities

It is difficult to build a lot in existing cities, and the preparation of the documentation often takes forever. Therefore, if demand begins to grow in the secondary market in existing cities, it will be very difficult to contain it and the cost of living space will increase in value.

As the crisis recedes into the past, property prices will rise. But interest rates, apparently, will remain minimal for several more years. So for now rent will grow, but not significantly.

Figuratively speaking, today a crisis Is the epitome of war. Everyone is saving up money. But when he will end and everyone starts spending money, then it can happen hyperinflation.

Investors should be careful when investing money at a fixed interest rate for long periods. In the event of an increase in inflation, such investments will lose in value ( interest rate risk).

Need to learn and do made of an exclusive product in the labor market. Then get a job in a company with global competitive advantages

The idea of ​​buying an apartment for renting it out. Unfortunately, the profitability of such investments is much lower than the purchase of retail space. And again, during the crisis, rental rates plummet.

In Moscow, the cost of renting an apartment worth $ 400 thousand is $ 1,000 a month. At the same time, rental income for a store of the same value is $ 3,000.

Apartments

You can purchase. In this case, you must remember: buying an apartment in Moscow, we are actually buying oil.

Therefore, on the site www. igi. info we will regularly notify investors about interesting structured deposits, bonds, promotions and shopping opportunities in different countries.

Read the book Richard Pipes "Russia under the old regime". Otherwise, no investment strategy will help. You can repeat the mistakes of Khodorkovsky and Berezovsky and end up either in prison or in London.

The gold standard made it impossible to print money just like that. The consequences were dire. The crisis led to mass unemployment, bankruptcies and wars - as the only way to "borrow" gold from neighbors and give jobs to people.

As a result, after the torment of World War II, the world gradually abandoned the gold standard in favor of "Debt" standard.

Hedge funds, which are not regulated by any regulatory restrictions in the choice of investments, often use a lot of leverage. If all goes well, managers get a fantastic commission. If everything is bad, clients go broke, and managers open a new fund.

Option - the right to buy or sell an asset in the future. Bought and sold in the market. It costs much less than the asset itself. It makes it possible to make money on the rise or fall of an asset by initially spending a small amount. Paradise for the poor.

As many governments plan to reduce the growth of public debt in the future, the future prosperity of corporations remains in question. That's why buy stocks today with extreme caution.

Dear Readers!

As Dmitry says, books on economics come in two formats - "for institutions" and "for dummies." The former cannot be understood, the latter cannot be used. He also managed to combine the seemingly incompatible. Before you is really serious work, which in its depth is not inferior to an academic textbook. But at the same time, it is written in a very simple, accessible and interesting way.

The author examines a huge number of examples from real life, and from the life of not a billionaire, but an ordinary entrepreneur. You will come across a lot of pictures and graphs, which also greatly simplify the perception of the material.

The author does not retell the generally accepted economic theory. His book is permeated with unique ideas, which he came to through his own experience of many years of studying the topic and managing financial assets: what is a good investment, why it is necessary to buy exclusive goods, how to act correctly in conditions of rapid technological progress, in what currency is it better to store savings, etc. .d.

I am sure that every reader, after reading this book, will be able to competently and absolutely meaningfully manage their money. It will help him avoid a huge number of risks and earn maximum income.

For our Club, this publication is valuable in that it carries very useful information for a professional investor. For example, Dmitry is the first to present an algorithm for calculating world profit, which is the basis for the stock market. There are also a number of interesting ideas for governing the state. In particular, it examines in detail why the well-being of companies is highly dependent on the actions of the government and how it, in turn, can contribute to the prosperity of business.

The thoughts presented on the pages of this book will be useful both for the average Russian and for the country as a whole. Therefore, we decided with pleasure to open the Leaders' Club library with this work. We are confident that it will be able to attract the attention of everyone who wants to see their country among the most advanced and prosperous countries in the world and will become a bestseller both in Russia and abroad.

With a wish for a successful investment,

Artem Avetisyan,

Chairman of the Leaders' Club, Director of the New Business direction

Strategic Initiative Agencies

When I was born, there was no one in the house. There was an open bottle of milk in the refrigerator, and a violin was gathering dust in the cabinet. I did not become a musician, but I organized a tote at school, traded vodka and incomprehensible cosmetics at the institute, made visas for bandits, bought factories - in general, I tried in every possible way not to starve to death.

A little boy played on the stock exchange -

He bought and sold shares.

Quietly, calmly, without screams and groans

He lost nine hundred million ...

The first time I lost was in 1998. Then in 2008. But the higher powers turned out to be favorable to me, and we, as they say, were again alive for profit at the first opportunity. Nevertheless, it became clear that it makes no sense to invest anywhere with the energy of a headless fly - macroeconomics will eat everything.

Plus, I was extremely curious about how the investment world works. At school I was taught mathematics, geography, Russian. They even tried to familiarize myself with the mysteries of astronomy - but I was not at all up to it. There are many subjects - but not a word about investments. At the institute there was a complete repetition of the moment - mathematical analysis, random processes, differential equations. But again, not a word about how and where to invest.

Time passed. I have read many books. Passed all possible exams on financial analysis. I talked with all the more or less knowledgeable people. But no I haven’t found a coherent theory of investment.

All businessmen are speculators. The only thing politicians do is call for doubling the GDP. Sometimes, however, they decide to spend money - they build a BAM or turn the rivers back. The books are overloaded with stories about all sorts of lucky ones - you just see who, how and where got rich. But there is not a single word about who went bankrupt no less "first-class".

In general, over time, I built my own theory of investment.

I tested the theory in practice. That is, he made and lost money on ALL types of investments - soy and cocoa beans, orange juice and precious metals, stocks and bonds, paintings and valuable coins, futures and options, collective farms and real estate, public and insider information. Further - everywhere on the list. In addition, I managed to take part in all types of showdowns - with bandits, courts, police, OBEP, firefighters, SES, shareholders and creditors. Most of the events took place in Russia and the United States, although there were other places - Iran, Israel, Poland, England.

In 2001, I began to study in detail the issues related to inflation and investment. Over the next ten years, I have accumulated a lot of interesting material. In July 2011, my brother gave me great advice: "Write a book - for fifteen-year-old girls, so that everything is clear, interesting and in the style of Dostoevsky." The party said: we must! The Komsomol answered: yes! We will build communism in orderly brigades and we will gladden the Party with success in work. Dostoevsky, of course, did not succeed, but the book came out entertaining and useful. Moreover, both for girls-boys and for their parents. Even very rich dads should be interested in it, because good theoretical training has never bothered anyone. Serious economists will find food for thought in it, too.

I tried to give more examples and draw more pictures so that everything was clear and understandable. There will be questions about where exactly to invest money - go to the website of the Institute of Global Investments (www.igi.info) - we will discuss how to cash in on the crisis of capitalism.

Special thanks to everyone who helped in the publication of this book, in particular to my brother Sergei and Natalya Vishnyakova.

introduction

The world's wealth is constantly growing. We must manage our money wisely if we want to keep up with the world and get our fair share of the profits.

You can invest in stocks, bonds, art objects, rare coins and stamps, bank deposits, elite wines, real estate, minerals and so on. Sometimes it makes sense to buy even dead souls.

But, as in any other business connected with big money, the investor is in wait for a huge number of trials and pitfalls.

When you have been taught to play poker and you win your first hundred dollars, you consider yourself a genius. However, in the future, all new nuances are being clarified. And after a while, your balance becomes negative. Professional players, possessing unique knowledge and many years of practice, always find an opportunity to beat newcomers.

The same thing happens in the world of investments. You can't invest money "for the company" just because a neighbor resold his apartment profitably or Forrest Gump became the owner of shares in "some fruit company." Everything must be done clearly and confidently, on time and skillfully, not succumbing to provocations and not allowing yourself to be fooled.

Dmitry Hotimsky

Let's cash in on the crisis of capitalism ...

Where to invest money correctly

Leadership Club Foreword

Dear Readers!

As Dmitry says, books on economics come in two formats - "for institutions" and "for dummies." The former cannot be understood, the latter cannot be used. He also managed to combine the seemingly incompatible. Before you is really serious work, which in its depth is not inferior to an academic textbook. But at the same time, it is written in a very simple, accessible and interesting way.

The author examines a huge number of examples from real life, and from the life of not a billionaire, but an ordinary entrepreneur. You will come across a lot of pictures and graphs, which also greatly simplify the perception of the material.

The author does not retell the generally accepted economic theory. His book is permeated with unique ideas, which he came to through his own experience of many years of studying the topic and managing financial assets: what is a good investment, why it is necessary to buy exclusive goods, how to act correctly in conditions of rapid technological progress, in what currency is it better to store savings, etc. .d.

I am sure that every reader, after reading this book, will be able to competently and absolutely meaningfully manage their money. It will help him avoid a huge number of risks and earn maximum income.

For our Club, this publication is valuable in that it carries very useful information for a professional investor. For example, Dmitry is the first to present an algorithm for calculating world profit, which is the basis for the stock market. There are also a number of interesting ideas for governing the state. In particular, it examines in detail why the well-being of companies is highly dependent on the actions of the government and how it, in turn, can contribute to the prosperity of business.

The thoughts presented on the pages of this book will be useful both for the average Russian and for the country as a whole. Therefore, we decided with pleasure to open the Leaders' Club library with this work. We are confident that it will be able to attract the attention of everyone who wants to see their country among the most advanced and prosperous countries in the world and will become a bestseller both in Russia and abroad.


With a wish for a successful investment,

Artem Avetisyan,

Chairman of the Leaders' Club, Director of the New Business direction

Strategic Initiative Agencies

When I was born, there was no one in the house. There was an open bottle of milk in the refrigerator, and a violin was gathering dust in the cabinet. I did not become a musician, but I organized a tote at school, traded vodka and incomprehensible cosmetics at the institute, made visas for bandits, bought factories - in general, I tried in every possible way not to starve to death.

A little boy played on the stock exchange -
He bought and sold shares.
Quietly, calmly, without screams and groans
He lost nine hundred million ...

The first time I lost was in 1998. Then in 2008. But the higher powers turned out to be favorable to me, and we, as they say, were again alive for profit at the first opportunity. Nevertheless, it became clear that it makes no sense to invest anywhere with the energy of a headless fly - macroeconomics will eat everything.

Plus, I was extremely curious about how the investment world works. At school I was taught mathematics, geography, Russian. They even tried to familiarize myself with the mysteries of astronomy - but I was not at all up to it. There are many subjects - but not a word about investments. At the institute there was a complete repetition of the moment - mathematical analysis, random processes, differential equations. But again, not a word about how and where to invest.

Time passed. I have read many books. Passed all possible exams on financial analysis. I talked with all the more or less knowledgeable people. But no I haven’t found a coherent theory of investment.

All businessmen are speculators. The only thing politicians do is call for doubling the GDP. Sometimes, however, they decide to spend money - they build a BAM or turn the rivers back. The books are overloaded with stories about all sorts of lucky ones - you just see who, how and where got rich. But there is not a single word about who went bankrupt no less "first-class".

In general, over time, I built my own theory of investment.

I tested the theory in practice. That is, he made and lost money on ALL types of investments - soy and cocoa beans, orange juice and precious metals, stocks and bonds, paintings and valuable coins, futures and options, collective farms and real estate, public and insider information. Further - everywhere on the list. In addition, I managed to take part in all types of showdowns - with bandits, courts, police, OBEP, firefighters, SES, shareholders and creditors. Most of the events took place in Russia and the United States, although there were other places - Iran, Israel, Poland, England.

In 2001, I began to study in detail the issues related to inflation and investment. Over the next ten years, I have accumulated a lot of interesting material. In July 2011, my brother gave me great advice: "Write a book - for fifteen-year-old girls, so that everything is clear, interesting and in the style of Dostoevsky." The party said: we must! The Komsomol answered: yes! We will build communism in orderly brigades and we will gladden the Party with success in work. Dostoevsky, of course, did not succeed, but the book came out entertaining and useful. Moreover, both for girls-boys and for their parents. Even very rich dads should be interested in it, because good theoretical training has never bothered anyone. Serious economists will find food for thought in it, too.

I tried to give more examples and draw more pictures so that everything was clear and understandable. There will be questions about where exactly to invest money - go to the website of the Institute of Global Investments (www.igi.info) - we will discuss how to cash in on the crisis of capitalism.

Special thanks to everyone who helped in the publication of this book, in particular to my brother Sergei and Natalya Vishnyakova.

introduction

The world's wealth is constantly growing. We must manage our money wisely if we want to keep up with the world and get our fair share of the profits.

You can invest in stocks, bonds, art objects, rare coins and stamps, bank deposits, elite wines, real estate, minerals and so on. Sometimes it makes sense to buy even dead souls.

But, as in any other business connected with big money, the investor is in wait for a huge number of trials and pitfalls.

When you have been taught to play poker and you win your first hundred dollars, you consider yourself a genius. However, in the future, all new nuances are being clarified. And after a while, your balance becomes negative. Professional players, possessing unique knowledge and many years of practice, always find an opportunity to beat newcomers.

The same thing happens in the world of investments. You can't invest money "for the company" just because a neighbor resold his apartment profitably or Forrest Gump became the owner of shares in "some fruit company." Everything must be done clearly and confidently, on time and skillfully, not succumbing to provocations and not allowing yourself to be fooled.

What should be done specifically? Where to take the money?

You will find out soon enough.

In the meantime, you can relax a little, sunbathe and listen to an entertaining story about the theory of the question (where can we go without it?), Sipping a fragrant cocktail through a straw with pleasure.

The active consumption of luxury goods and services, the unrestrained spending of money left and right - this is the key to the success of a capitalist society.

For example, in the Piano Bar of the famous London Sheraton hotel, you can try the Louis XIII Diamond Cocktail for $ 4,500. It is a mixture of the most expensive cognacs.

The humble charm of the bourgeoisie ...

In addition to the defiantly expensive ingredients, a small diamond for your girlfriend will certainly be added to the cocktail.

Key ideas


Investment appraisal

The little son came to his father and asked the little one:

- What is good and what is bad?

We, too, always and in everything must know this in advance.

Let's cash in on the crisis of capitalism ... or Where to invest money correctly Khotimsky Dmitry

A crisis

What is a crisis?

A crisis is when you owe everyone, but you have no money. A crisis occurs when people stop buying goods. Food is bought, but everything else is not. The barter mechanism stops working. This situation arises after a tangible external shock - when someone went bankrupt, property prices fell sharply, or a war broke out. Society in good times lives in a state of euphoria. All people spend to the maximum, and often they use not only their own funds, but also loans. But at the most unexpected moment, even, one might say, out of the blue, there is default, devastation and general despondency of everyone and everything - from the sad loaner to the harsh creditor.

Remember: "The basis of the character of Monsieur Bonacieux was the deepest selfishness combined with desperate avarice, seasoned with the greatest cowardice."

At such moments, companies lose the lion's share of their income, and many of them become unprofitable at all. Their stocks and bonds are plummeting in value. Investors are having a hard time. Like many others, I myself have experienced something similar twice - in 1998 and 2008.

In 1997, we purchased imported Tetra Pak equipment for our plant in Timashevsk. It is used for filling milk. Naturally, it was bought on credit. And, of course, for dollars. The plans were very bright. But there was a crisis - and the price of milk fell three times, from $ 1 to 35 cents per liter. At the same time, imported packaging still cost 12 cents. As a result, our profit dropped to zero - and we could no longer repay the loan. Because of this, they almost went broke and were soon forced to sell the plant. For the buyer, which turned out to be Wimm-Bill-Dann, it was a tasty morsel. Largely thanks to that deal, she successfully placed her shares on the stock exchange, and 10 years later she was sold to American Pepsi-Cola for $ 5 billion.

In 2008, my partners and I were engaged in the construction of a shopping center in Orekhovo-Zuevo. The crisis took us by surprise - with an unfinished building and $ 24 million in debt.

Just great.

Two years passed before we finally settled all the problems with the banks. By the way, I personally vouched for this loan, so whether you want it or not, I had to pay.

If workers are frightened by the specter of financial instability and cause them a sense of concern for their existence, they will immediately begin to save for a rainy day and spend less than they earn. As a result, they will have more cash than the capitalists. How can businessmen cover the shortage of funds? It remains only to hope for the generosity of the state. If it prints money and distributes it to businesses, everyone will be saved. If he does not do this, another depression will begin.

In 1998, Russia decided not to print money to buy out government debt. The government was afraid of hyperinflation. The country preferred massive bankruptcies and default on its obligations.

Rebus about the crisis (only a truly Russian person can solve it):

Investors need to be on the lookout at all times. They must take into account all the factors that can provoke a crisis. They need to understand exactly when this can happen and what will happen to their assets in this case.

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Currency Crisis After massive selling of currencies and unsuccessful intervention, the economies of Asian countries were destroyed and unable to function properly. The baht, the national currency of Thailand with a once high exchange rate, depreciated by 48%, and by the end of 1997, this figure


For several decades, the author of the book invested in a variety of investment projects: he placed money on bank deposits, bought bonds, silver, currency, real estate, paintings. After studying the laws of macroeconomics and analyzing the results of his own investments, he was able to derive a theory that explains what kind investments bring money and - most importantly - why... This book tells you how to better manage your own capital in a simple and interesting way. Everything that is written in it has been tested in practice, or rather, on the personal capital of the author. The book was published by the publishing house "Mann, Ivanov and Ferber".

A crisis

What is a crisis?

A crisis is when you owe everyone, but you have no money. A crisis occurs when people stop buying goods. Food is bought, but everything else is not. The barter mechanism stops working. This situation arises after a tangible external shock - when someone went bankrupt, property prices fell sharply, or a war broke out. Society in good times lives in a state of euphoria. All people spend to the maximum, and often they use not only their own funds, but also loans. But at the most unexpected moment, even, one might say, out of the blue, there is default, devastation and general despondency of everyone and everything - from the sad loaner to the harsh creditor.

Remember: "The basis of Monsieur Bonacieux's character was the deepest selfishness combined with desperate avarice, seasoned with the greatest cowardice."

At such moments, companies lose the lion's share of their income, and many of them become unprofitable at all. Their stocks and bonds are plummeting in value. Investors are having a hard time. Like many others, I myself have experienced something similar twice - in 1998 and 2008.

    In 1997, we purchased imported Tetra Pak equipment for our plant in Timashevsk. It is used for filling milk. Naturally, it was bought on credit. And, of course, for dollars. The plans were very bright. But there was a crisis - and the price of milk fell three times, from $ 1 to 35 cents per liter. At the same time, imported packaging still cost 12 cents. As a result, our profit dropped to zero - and we could no longer repay the loan. Because of this, they almost went broke and were soon forced to sell the plant. For the buyer, which turned out to be Wimm-Bill-Dann, it was a tasty morsel. Largely thanks to that deal, she successfully placed her shares on the stock exchange, and 10 years later she was sold to American Pepsi-Cola for $ 5 billion.

    In 2008, my partners and I were engaged in the construction of a shopping center in Orekhovo-Zuevo. The crisis took us by surprise - with an unfinished building and $ 24 million in debt.

    Just great.

    Two years passed before we finally settled all the problems with the banks. By the way, I personally vouched for this loan, so whether you want it or not, I had to pay.

If workers are frightened by the specter of financial instability and cause them a sense of concern for their existence, they will immediately begin to save for a rainy day and spend less than they earn. As a result, they will have more cash than the capitalists. How can businessmen cover the shortage of funds? It remains only to hope for the generosity of the state. If it prints money and distributes it to businesses, everyone will be saved. If he does not do this, another depression will begin.

In 1998, Russia decided not to print money to buy out government debt. The government was afraid of hyperinflation. The country preferred massive bankruptcies and default on its obligations. Funny

Rebus about the crisis (only a truly Russian person can solve it):

Investors need to be on the lookout at all times. They must take into account all the factors that can provoke a crisis. They need to understand exactly when this can happen and what will happen to their assets in this case.

The Crisis from a Game Theory Perspective

Throughout the entire crisis period, the selfish behavior of individuals leads to losses for the entire society as a whole. This phenomenon is explored by game theory.

This statement can be illustrated with the help of the so-called prisoner's dilemma, known as the prisoner's dilemma. This is a famous paradox that shows that selfishness is not always the most profitable strategy.

The same effect occurs during a crisis. The selfishness of market participants leads to the collapse of the system and aggravates the position of all actors.

When problems begin, most individuals begin to pull the blanket over themselves vigorously. They get paid but spend nothing. They either save money or pay off debts. But with such passive “consumer behavior”, many products do not find their customers. The system of commodity circulation is being destroyed. The “smart guys” who hoped to save money are fired from their jobs. As a result, all participants in the process go bankrupt and the situation is further aggravated.

State, debt and crisis

It is believed that the state during a crisis should act “against the cycle”. That is, to sharply increase the state order at a time when everyone is cutting back on purchases. The approach is logical. But there is one significant nuance - the national debt. It is growing so rapidly that the government is unable to extinguish it in an honest way. You have to print money. Most often, this leads to strong inflation.


    The US national debt has been actively growing over the past years. Unsurprisingly, some rating agencies have downgraded the United States from AAA (completely reliable) to AA (minimal probability of default). If the government simply prints money to pay off its debts, then dollar prices around the world will skyrocket. In many countries today, government debt has reached its maximum level.

True, there are always optimists in our world. For example, one of my "colleagues in the shop" spoke about the growing public debt as follows:

    “I don't see any problems with the current system. The state prints as much money as is necessary for profit and the economy to live. If someone actively invents something, labor productivity increases, prices do not rise and everyone becomes happy - both hard workers and capitalists. And if (as in the last ten years) nothing really breakthrough happens and productivity starts to stall, then the money due to inflation is simply withdrawn from those who do not work. From heirs and retirees. The middle class, which has retired, is a human pity ... The poor will not be left without a state minimum anyway. And those who saved up endlessly ... to take this money away from them is a sacred cause ... only the commies did it head-on, but in the civilized world they invented “quantitative easing”. Well, it's wonderful - let them print. And insinuations on the topic that the real end of the US economic system is about to come can only be expressed by those freaks who are no longer able to attract attention to themselves in any other way. I have never seen a single mathematical model proving that the current system based on the dollar as a reserve currency can somehow crack if the debt to GDP ratio is 1000%. Well, except that inflation will be higher for some time, and okay ... "

I'm still not that optimistic. When the whole society, starting with top managers of rating agencies and ending with ordinary farmers, considers the national debt to be unreliable, this can end either in very serious inflation (if the Central Bank buys up government debt) or in default on government bonds.

In good times, not only governments, but also other sectors of the economy increase their debt burden. In 2010, the total volume of debt in the world was almost twice the volume of world GDP.

It is impossible to pay them. In the future, we expect either growing inflation, or very low interest rates, or massive defaults, accompanied by a fall in world GDP. You need to be prepared for any of the scenarios and try to get the maximum benefit from them.

Famous crises

Now it's time to get to know the most famous crises. This will help prepare for future shocks.

Tulip mania

The first and perhaps the most exotic economic crisis known occurred in Holland in 1636. It received a beautiful name - "Tulipomania". Everyone was driven crazy by ordinary tulips. At the time, they were considered expensive flowers. If, in addition to everything, the tulip had an unusual color, then it was sold for insane money. We now know that this color change is due to a virus that enters the flower bulb. But then they did not know this, and the unusual color was perceived as a miracle of nature. Bulb sellers made a lot of money. Three onions cost the same as a good house, and just one Tulip Brasserie was exchanged for a thriving brewery. All conversations and deals revolved around a single subject - onions.

Constantly rising prices have provoked many families from the middle and poor strata of society to participate in the "tulip" stock market games. In order to buy bulbs and resell them at a higher price, houses and businesses were laid, and fortunes were put on the line. The sale and resale took place many times, while the bulbs themselves were not even taken out of the ground. The fortunes doubled in a matter of moments. The poor became rich, the rich super-rich. The onion exchange has become a spontaneous uncontrolled market.

Prices have shown unrestrained growth. But in the end, as it always happens, there was a natural collapse. Prices fell 100 times at once! Mass bankruptcies began. Holland plunged into a deep depression.

Conclusion: do not start speculating in flowers just because everyone around you has suddenly gone crazy. All the best for women.

Viceroy was the name of a 4,000 florin tulip. This is exactly how much an experienced worker earned in 10 years.

The Semper Augustus sold even more. They gave him 200 ounces of gold. If we translate this into modern financial language, it turns out that such a tulip would pull on a brand new Bentley.

    The South Sea Company

            Subscribers flock there all day.
            They are not too lazy to swear and shove.
            This is due to the desire for profit.
            But, God knows, they will not have time for fat.
                    Jonathan Swift

It was in England in 1720. The South Seas Company received the exclusive right to import goods from South America. In exchange for this privilege, she was to supply black slaves to the new colonies. The company's shares became so popular that half of London's population rushed to buy them feverishly. Even Sir Isaac Newton could not resist and spent a substantial sum on them. It soon became clear that the company's real profits were completely inadequate. It all ended in a huge scandal, a drop in stock prices, massive ruin and, in the end, the bankruptcy of the company itself.

Below is an excerpt from Ross King's book "Domino". This is a very curious text describing how people invest money, absolutely not understanding what exactly they are buying.

“After the bill on the“ South Sea Bubbles Company ”was approved by parliament (traditionally, the case did not go without large bribes), and then met with the highest approval, the Company's shares immediately soared in value by a thousand percent. Nothing like this had ever been seen before: such an influx of wealth was hard to imagine. In one morning, mind-blowing fortunes were amassed. The lackeys soon acquired old estates along the banks of the Thames, shopkeepers moved into brand new mansions in Hanover Square. Everybody en masse - from cooks to priests and dowager duchesses - pledged their last valuables, parting with family treasures at bargain prices, just to get some cash in order to invest it, if possible, in the South Seas Company. Gold and silver coins - the natural result of honest diligence - were exchanged for weightless credit, for imaginary prosperity that soared up on the paper wings of Daedalus, for ethereal promises, for empty shadows. Yes, exactly the shadows: like the dog from the fable, people grabbed at the ghost of wealth - at its illusion, giving up real property.

But how seductive this illusion was! The value of the Company's shares in April was 375, in May - 495, in July - 870. It was rumored that that summer every time at eight in the morning there was a rustling breeze in the city: everyone was hastily unfolding newspapers, wanting to know about the share price. The cost of everything else grew as well. For example, land. Plots near London have risen in price forty-five times against the previous annual rent ... In the western part of the city - along the banks of the Thames in Chelsea, Chiswick, Richmond - began to build villas.

Suddenly - that was Tristano's first impression of London - the whole city turned into one continuous construction site. That summer, mountains of building stone, heaps of cobblestones, stacks of slate slabs, sacks of lime were piled everywhere.

... All they did was buy, build, sell, incited by deceptive temptations and disastrous financial traps, mad speculation fever,

gambling obsession. Greed, self-interest, vanity, money-grubbing and wastefulness, an irrepressible craving for luxury, indulgence of vices, debauchery, all kinds of whims, boasting, criminal passions - this is where everyone's thoughts rushed. The river choked with newly arrived barges, the streets with a stream of brand-new carriages, monstrously huge houses with freshly made furniture and luxurious draperies; all this did not have time to be unloaded from the merchant ships and lighters that filled the port of London.

By October, the streets and shops were empty. In the stables, in the shipyards and city squares, reminiscent of the once incessant hives, instead of the previous ebullient activity, only the gaping openings of the skeletons of unfinished carriages, barges and mansions appeared to the eyes, like a multitude of dead animals, whose flesh had been devoured and whose bones had been gnawed by invisible predators and through whose skeletons the grass should sprout in the spring. Ready-made carriages, barges and mansions were not in demand by anyone, as were thousands of thousands of embroidered camisoles, gold watches and buckles, inlaid snuffboxes, castor hats, silver swords, marble walking sticks. Two thousand merchants and artisans - mostly milliners, tailors, manufactures, lacemakers, haberdashers, perfumers, and so on - went bankrupt, not bailing out a single guinea from the capital of the South Sea Company. And, of course, bricklayers, carpenters, plasterers, joiners, tile masters, plumbers ... But what can I say, even His Majesty (he, as some have argued, and initiated all this madness) also suffered from a disaster: according to rumors , his shares in the amount of 66,000 pounds (according to the April quotation) fell in price by at least 10,000. "

The Great Depression

The Great Depression of 1929 remains in the memory of the American people. Everything that the US government is doing today to save the economy is based on the desire to avoid a repeat of the events of those years.

In 1929, there was a truly global destruction of the capitalist system. Huge economic shocks hit the United States, and Europe eventually plunged into the chaos of World War II.


The formal beginning of the Great Depression was the collapse of stock prices in the United States. This was followed by bankruptcies of banks and brokers. Every fourth resident of the country has lost his job. The consumption of goods, including imported ones, has decreased.

But since the United States was at that time the world's leading importer, the depression quickly spread to other countries and actually led to global devastation. The volume of international trade has halved. In all countries of the world, the incomes of citizens and governments have dropped significantly. Commodity prices plummeted. Construction has stopped almost everywhere. Agriculture was plunged into a severe crisis - prices fell by 60%. Enterprises that extract minerals have been badly affected.

Unemployment in Germany has reached 26%. Taking advantage of the dissatisfaction of citizens, the Nazi party came to power.

It was only in 1933 that the US government managed to stabilize the situation with the help of large-scale government procurement and funding for public works. But ultimately American the economy "came to its senses" only with the outbreak of the Second World War.

Since then, it has been believed that capitalism cannot exist without the help of the state. And today, as soon as talk about an impending crisis begins, everyone immediately looks at the leaders of states and asks for money to save the drowning.

The beginning of the 2008 crisis was very reminiscent of the Great Depression. Bank failures, soaring unemployment, falling demand for most goods, depreciation of stocks and real estate around the world. However, this time, governments immediately rushed to help the economy. They printed about $ 5 trillion - and everyone spent it.

The result is obvious - the economy exists to this day.

Will states be able to pay off their debts now? More likely no than yes. Is this critical? It's not clear yet. They may be able to hold out in this limbo for long enough, but this requires two components - zero interest rates and investor confidence.

What is the harbinger of the crisis? High level of debt load of the population

The crisis consists in a sharp drop in demand. Private sector debts are initially low. But all people want to buy a TV, a vacuum cleaner, then a car, and, of course, an apartment ... Therefore, they actively take loans from banks and spend money on purchases. Debts are growing. From a certain point, their maintenance becomes problematic. Households are sharply reducing the volume of borrowing. And the demand falls sharply as a result. In the graph below, we can see that as of today, private sector debt in the US is comparable to the country's GDP. The situation is dangerous. Therefore, with risky investments, in particular with stocks, you should wait.

If the aggregate volume of private household debts begins to approach the volume of GDP, then a period of slowdown in demand is not far off. At such times, investors should be very conservative. Alternatively, you can look at the ratio of household debt to income. If, on average, the debts of citizens exceed their annual income, the situation becomes dangerous.


Rising real estate prices

You also need to monitor property prices. If they grow much faster than salaries, this is a very dangerous trend.

The graph below (see next page) shows the relationship between real estate prices and the average income of the population in the United States.

We see that up to 2007, real estate prices were growing much faster than the level of wages. As a result, the number of new buyers decreased. Prices rose thanks to the efforts of speculators who


artificially supported the market. But as soon as the flow of investment stopped, the market crashed. On the diagram, the blue line is the ratio of house prices to household income. Green is the average cost of houses. Red is the average per capita income.

In England, we could observe approximately the same situation:


Shipping cost index

During a crisis, it is very difficult to understand what is actually happening to the economy. News outlets are jammed with diametrically opposed stories and opinions. Someone thinks that the apocalypse is coming, and someone sees a ray of light in the dark kingdom.


In the above diagram, we can see that the cost of shipping was growing until May 2008 (index value 9500). Then there was a rapid fall almost to zero marks (index value 770).

At the end of 2012, the index is 1000. This indicates that the prosperity of the world economy is still very far away.