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The Little Book of Bull Moves, Updated and Expanded: How to Keep Your Portfolio Up When the Market Is Up, Down, or Sideways
In The Little Book of Bull Moves , popular author and economic advisor, Peter Schiff, takes a new look at America's bull markets of the 1920's, 1960's, and 1990's, and the bear markets that followed. Analyzing similarities and differences from both an economic and political perspective, Schiff discusses investment strategies that worked then and explains how those same conservative approaches to investing can be applied in today's market. Written by a seasoned Wall Street prognosticator, The Little Book of Bull Moves shows readers how to make money under adverse market conditions by using conservative, nontraditional investment strategies.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 22, 2008
20 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Peter D. Schiff
15 books264 followersPeter David Schiff is an American investment broker, author, financial commentator, and was a candidate in the 2010 Republican primary for the United States Senate seat from Connecticut.
Schiff is CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer based in Westport, Connecticut and CEO of Euro Pacific Precious Metals, LLC, a gold and silver dealer based in New York City. He frequently appears as a guest on CNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg Television and is often quoted in major financial publications and is a frequent guest on internet radio as well as the host of the former podcast Wall Street Unspun, which is now broadcast on terrestrial radio and known as The Peter Schiff Show.
Schiff is known for his bearish views on the dollar and dollar denominated assets, while bullish on investment in tangible assets as well as foreign stocks and currencies.
Schiff is CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer based in Westport, Connecticut and CEO of Euro Pacific Precious Metals, LLC, a gold and silver dealer based in New York City. He frequently appears as a guest on CNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg Television and is often quoted in major financial publications and is a frequent guest on internet radio as well as the host of the former podcast Wall Street Unspun, which is now broadcast on terrestrial radio and known as The Peter Schiff Show.
Schiff is known for his bearish views on the dollar and dollar denominated assets, while bullish on investment in tangible assets as well as foreign stocks and currencies.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 30, 2018
When faced with fire, don’t quibble about smoke.
Peter Schiff is an American stock broker, investor, economist, and media personality who gained substantial recognition for predicting the financial crisis of 2008. In The Little Book of Bull Moves, he puts forward his theories and investment strategies to take advantage of the anticipated shift in economic might from the USA to the Far East and developing countries. Originally written in 2008 and updated in 2010, the advice in this book is still valuable a decade on, in the midst of the second longest bull market run in US history and the longest in modern times.
From the early 2000s, Peter’s prognostications on the state of the US financial system have been remarkably prescient. This is perhaps best exemplified by the numerous ‘Peter Schiff was Right’ compilations available on YouTube. The bull market mania in the housing market during these years, the ignorance of the risks posed by sub-prime mortgages and NINJA (no income, no job and no assets) loans, allied with the cheap money from the Federal Reserve, all combined to create a ticking time bomb. The assumption that one could buy a house, leveraged to the hilt, under the premise that house prices would only continue to go up, was widely held. This folly eventually led to the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, spreading the crisis throughout the world and resulting in massive government bailouts of financial institutions. Here, Peter lays out the nature of the collapse and the reasons behind it in an often amusing fashion, using metaphor to embellish his arguments. This practice will be familiar to those that follow his podcast and other media appearances.
Non-US readers will acknowledge that the book is written from the perspective of an American investor, but this should not affect the utility of the information presented here. Given the widespread entrenchment of the US financial system in developed nations, for example here in the United Kingdom and in mainland Europe, whatever happens there will reverberate here as 2008 showed. Many international investors continue to pile cash into US financial assets, ignorant of the insane valuations and pitiful yields. These institutions and individuals will ultimately lose out in the coming correction. In tandem, the prevalence of fiat currency around the world, or rather the lack of a gold standard, would suggest that the inflation-hedging practices described herein will be universally applicable.
Peter’s advice concerns the best way to position oneself to benefit from the coming real crash, the one that is likely to occur during the Trump presidency as a result of massive debts (+$21 trillion and counting) and inflation brought about by the Federal Reserve. The explanation of the function of inflation and why it occurs was especially intriguing from a political perspective – it is an insidious tax in all but name and results primarily from government manipulation and the lack of a gold standard. Cash and bonds are diluted over time and stocks are inflated higher than their intrinsic value. What’s more, real inflation is hidden by misleading government statistics that omit financial assets (i.e. stocks, bonds) and insurance from their calculations. Therefore, real inflation could be closer to double-digits than one might expect.
To circumvent these machinations, Peter suggests investing in dividend-paying stocks in countries that still have attractive levels of freedom, low taxes, plentiful raw materials and production infrastructure. He also provides details on how to gain exposure to gold and silver, so-called real money, to insulate one’s purchasing power from the fiat money printing that is out of hand. A number of countries are described in depth and asset allocations are suggested, at least for the precious metals component. Some specific allocations for equities would have been welcomed but there are numerous texts elsewhere, some of which I have reviewed.
To summarise, this book will be of interest to anyone seeking an insight into the factors that led to the financial crisis, from the man who predicted it in advance. Although Mr Schiff is early with his predictions of a real crash, in my view these opinions are still sound and may yet come to pass. For those seeking to preserve their purchasing power and grow their wealth, this book gives abundant advice on portfolio allocation and stock selection. In simple terms, the message is to get out of US stocks for the most part and acquire international, conservative, dividend-paying companies at attractive valuations. Alongside real money in commodities and precious metals, this exposure should yield considerable returns when the inevitable decline takes place.
Peter Schiff is an American stock broker, investor, economist, and media personality who gained substantial recognition for predicting the financial crisis of 2008. In The Little Book of Bull Moves, he puts forward his theories and investment strategies to take advantage of the anticipated shift in economic might from the USA to the Far East and developing countries. Originally written in 2008 and updated in 2010, the advice in this book is still valuable a decade on, in the midst of the second longest bull market run in US history and the longest in modern times.
From the early 2000s, Peter’s prognostications on the state of the US financial system have been remarkably prescient. This is perhaps best exemplified by the numerous ‘Peter Schiff was Right’ compilations available on YouTube. The bull market mania in the housing market during these years, the ignorance of the risks posed by sub-prime mortgages and NINJA (no income, no job and no assets) loans, allied with the cheap money from the Federal Reserve, all combined to create a ticking time bomb. The assumption that one could buy a house, leveraged to the hilt, under the premise that house prices would only continue to go up, was widely held. This folly eventually led to the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, spreading the crisis throughout the world and resulting in massive government bailouts of financial institutions. Here, Peter lays out the nature of the collapse and the reasons behind it in an often amusing fashion, using metaphor to embellish his arguments. This practice will be familiar to those that follow his podcast and other media appearances.
Non-US readers will acknowledge that the book is written from the perspective of an American investor, but this should not affect the utility of the information presented here. Given the widespread entrenchment of the US financial system in developed nations, for example here in the United Kingdom and in mainland Europe, whatever happens there will reverberate here as 2008 showed. Many international investors continue to pile cash into US financial assets, ignorant of the insane valuations and pitiful yields. These institutions and individuals will ultimately lose out in the coming correction. In tandem, the prevalence of fiat currency around the world, or rather the lack of a gold standard, would suggest that the inflation-hedging practices described herein will be universally applicable.
Peter’s advice concerns the best way to position oneself to benefit from the coming real crash, the one that is likely to occur during the Trump presidency as a result of massive debts (+$21 trillion and counting) and inflation brought about by the Federal Reserve. The explanation of the function of inflation and why it occurs was especially intriguing from a political perspective – it is an insidious tax in all but name and results primarily from government manipulation and the lack of a gold standard. Cash and bonds are diluted over time and stocks are inflated higher than their intrinsic value. What’s more, real inflation is hidden by misleading government statistics that omit financial assets (i.e. stocks, bonds) and insurance from their calculations. Therefore, real inflation could be closer to double-digits than one might expect.
To circumvent these machinations, Peter suggests investing in dividend-paying stocks in countries that still have attractive levels of freedom, low taxes, plentiful raw materials and production infrastructure. He also provides details on how to gain exposure to gold and silver, so-called real money, to insulate one’s purchasing power from the fiat money printing that is out of hand. A number of countries are described in depth and asset allocations are suggested, at least for the precious metals component. Some specific allocations for equities would have been welcomed but there are numerous texts elsewhere, some of which I have reviewed.
To summarise, this book will be of interest to anyone seeking an insight into the factors that led to the financial crisis, from the man who predicted it in advance. Although Mr Schiff is early with his predictions of a real crash, in my view these opinions are still sound and may yet come to pass. For those seeking to preserve their purchasing power and grow their wealth, this book gives abundant advice on portfolio allocation and stock selection. In simple terms, the message is to get out of US stocks for the most part and acquire international, conservative, dividend-paying companies at attractive valuations. Alongside real money in commodities and precious metals, this exposure should yield considerable returns when the inevitable decline takes place.
March 30, 2020
The author talks about the financial condition of US of America and puts reasons why it is better to invest in non US Stocks or non-dollar stocks because of dollar continually loosing its value because of financial stimulus from government and inflation.
April 21, 2022
Kind of depressing, and I hope that he’s wrong. But I’m afraid that he’s not. It was originally written prior to the Great Recession, but the advice and a lot of what he talked about seems relevant and timely with everything that’s going on in the world right now.
February 26, 2018
Good book. Written 10 years too early, but general concepts are true.
March 11, 2025
Good investment advice overall but much of the information that was not financial principles is now fairly dated.
November 20, 2012
As an introduction to the failures of present day American economic policy (and the various agendas that drive it), this is a valuable book that deserves a wide readership. I have read other works from an Austrian economic school perspective (as well as proto-Austrian) and am already committed to this view. Here, Schiff helpfully translates that view into practical investing advice. However, if you are looking for a thorough explanation of Austrian economics, this is not it. In a nut shell, Schiff says that the American "big" government's policies and the Federal Reserve Bank's monetary policies have ruined the American economy through systematic deficit and debt spending on a national scale and enabling its citizens to do the same on an individual scale. Credit consumerism has replaced prudent saving and the nations holding US debt are growing their own economies and as such, the US dollar is weakening compared with other world currencies. Printing money creates inflation and weakens the dollar's purchasing power. This, coupled with keeping interest rates artificially low doesn't rescue an economy and prevent recession (the US is in one by any classic definition), it only postpones the enevitable and ensures that when the colapse does finally come, it will be deeper, longer and bleaker than any media source, politician or Keynsian economist can imagine. Schiff rightly argues that the failing buisinesses and agencies in the US should be allowed to fail, that the Fed should quite printing money and devaluing every US citizen's savings and assets, and that interest rates should be allowed to self adjust in order to encourage saving, discourage debt spending, and ultimately to allow a wayward US economy to take its yucky medicine so that it can ultimately get better. Under the current system, the US economy has only been taking painkillers and ignoring its symptoms, but the cancer will finally kill it because it is being fed, not fought, by the current policies. Schiff tells the reader how to invest and what steps to take to not only weather the storm but to come out on the other side in a good position to prosper once the US hits bottom and prepares to rise back up. Ultimately, Schiff says to steer clear of any US dollar backed investments. He says to run to resource rich nations like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, as well as growing markets like China, India, Korea, Brazil, Russia, and to emerging markets (smaller Asian, Middle east and South American markets), which are riskier but pose a potentially big upside. I have to disagree with his bullish comments on the EU however. When he wrote the book in 2008, and when he updated it in 2010, the EU was already coming apart economically. I am frankly surprised he didn't read this more accurately considering how well he called the tech bubble and the real estate bubble, and how correctly he is now calling the credit bubble for the very near future. With a few notable exceptions, the EU ought to be avoided as well for many of the same reasons the US should be abandoned as a safe haven for investment. Their Europe-wide policies of bail-outs, currency expansion and Germany's propping up have-not countries rather than allowing them to fail are only slightly less runinous than the US's unending QE measures. At least in the EU, at some level there is recognition of the need for austerity, something the US seems to not understand or not want to admit.
June 14, 2023
Very Good
June 6, 2018
Boring
I had read The Little Book on Valuation by Aswath Damodaran, which was rich in the terms of formulae, investing approach, content. However, this book surely fails to rich that level despite the author of the book is one of the prominent analysts and I think a fund manager and an advisory too.
In this book, you will get to read some basics about investing, commodities, international markets, forex etc, however, this book is more on the philosophical side, the author guiding the readers and giving them a list of dos and donts.
I didn't understand the context of the bull market and the bear market, at least not in this book.
And the author has bragged about some principles and bubble in the market, which I think should not be in the book at all.
Read this book at your own risk.
Akshat Solanki
I had read The Little Book on Valuation by Aswath Damodaran, which was rich in the terms of formulae, investing approach, content. However, this book surely fails to rich that level despite the author of the book is one of the prominent analysts and I think a fund manager and an advisory too.
In this book, you will get to read some basics about investing, commodities, international markets, forex etc, however, this book is more on the philosophical side, the author guiding the readers and giving them a list of dos and donts.
I didn't understand the context of the bull market and the bear market, at least not in this book.
And the author has bragged about some principles and bubble in the market, which I think should not be in the book at all.
Read this book at your own risk.
Akshat Solanki
January 10, 2012
Summary of crash-proof in terms of advice and a little more focused... Some thoughts presented are quite interesting and some are quite scary, so hopefully don't come true.
March 7, 2016
Interesting read & a good lesson to add some caution to your thoughts as economies rush off in a certain direction.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews