Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Gerald Celente, Futurist Fraud

Gerald Celente The Clown & Futurist Fraud

Gerald Celente, Futurist Fraud

The crazed doom-and-gloom prophets of our world have this troubling ability to occupy the airwaves, becoming strangely confused with qualified experts. Gerald Celente is the latest soothsayer operating on his hunches — now being celebrated on Digg, Reddit, and just about every damn aggregator imaginable.
His predictions sound suspiciously similar to the storyline for Brian Francis Slattery’s excellent new novel, Liberation, but Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is determined to deliver. By 2012, Celente forecasts revolution in America, food riots, and tax rebellions. In four years, America will become an undeveloped nation. Holidays will be about food rather than gifts. Mass hysteria, dogs and cats living together. Doom and gloom.
The media — or, rather, FOX News and conservative websites — is listening to Celente because he “predicted” the 1997 currency crisis in Asia, the subprime mortgage disaster, and the dollar dipping south. But Infowars, a website run by paleoconservative radio show host Alex Jones, is basking in this dystopic news like an AIG executive riding high on Uncle Sam’s dime. What’s particularly strange is that Infowars hasn’t bothered to quibble with Celente’s statements, much less point to any of his inaccurate predictions.
How does Celente do it? From Invest in Yourself by Mark Eisenson, Gerri Detweiler, and Nancy Castleman:
According to Gerald Celente, Director of the Trends Research Institute and author of Trends 2000, the key to tracking trends is to read two newspapers every day with a purpose — either The Wall Street Journal or The Financial Times, plus The New York Times or USA Today. Look for stories with social, economic, and political significance, be it about the difficulties older suburbs face or the current currency crisis. (You’ll know by the headline or the first paragraph.) Skip the stories that are purely human interest or that are about something that hasn’t happened yet (for example, a jury resuming deliberation on a sensational trial).
When a crisis does occur, tune in to the extra in-depth analyses that you’ll find in accompanying background pieces probably in more than one of the newspapers. Read them as though you’re a “political atheist,” Celente recommends — not for what you want or hope, but for what is really going on, not only in your own profession or industry, but for trends that may directly or indirectly shape the future.
Aside from the Dale Carnegie-style language here, much of Celente’s “suggestions” seem more like a series of guidelines on how to become a successful “futurist” predicting a good deal of generalist nonsense that scares the shit out of people, using language lifted from a newspaper story’s barebones and riding on a few hunches. Of course, it also helps to have an aesthetic touch — something along the lines of a desktop covered with 12 globes, just so you can impress a New York Times reporter who comes by to write a small profile.
Since Infowars could not be bothered to perform even the most rudimentary act of journalism, the time has come to see if Celente’s record truly cuts the mustard.
  • In May 1993, in a story about fiftysomethings losing their jobs written for the Orange County Register, Celente was quoted. He was advising IBM at the time during a period of downsizing. What was Celente’s golden advice? He informed displaced executives to “go for some kind of counseling.” Asked to comment on this situation, Celente offered the same doom and gloom boilerplate that he’s telling us today: “The Industrial Age is ending. All the systems are breaking down and that means disappointment and disillusionment for the people who grew up in the ’50′s.” He elaborated, “These people believed in the Ozzie and Harriet way of life. That concept is dead. So is the concept of retiring at 65.” These were hardly prescient or specific thoughts, but they were certainly dramatic enough to make it into an Orange County newspaper.
  • Why not get topical? Let’s take Celente on a more specialized subject like restaurants. In 1993, Celente predicted “growing demands for take-out food, high- and low-end restaurants, and restaurants that offer live entertainment. Middle-range restaurants with mainstream fare will suffer.” Aside from the fact that Celente’s prediction accounts for about 90% of restaurants, doesn’t the fact that human beings need to eat remain a comfy ledge to launch a prediction?
  • In 1998, Celente told Money Magazine that, as the population grows older, “Americans will be spending more time at home than ever before both for pleasure and business.” Imagine that. You grow old, retire, and then you suddenly have more time. How the hell did Celente know?
  • In the September 21, 2000 edition of Newsweek, the great futurist weighed in on mindless chores. Why are they called mindless? “Your mind can’t be going all the time.” And when any problem becomes bigger, it becomes bigger than burnout. “It’s road rage, it’s air rage, it’s Columbine, it’s stress — and people don’t get it.” I’m wondering if it’s also the kind of impulse that will cause you to make impetuous predictions about the United States’s future.
  • Asked by CBS News in May 2005 to comment upon where Dillard’s planned to go, Celente had this to say: “There is nothing Dillard’s has that you can’t find in 1,000 other places. America is vastly overstored.” Take out “Dillard’s” and sub it in with another department store chain name, and you begin to see what little Celente’s remarks say.
  • But if we’re in for a future of doom and gloom, Celente has been sending us some mixed messages. He told the Associated Press in May 2005, “The bottom of the luxury market is not going to fall out.”
  • Talking with the Associated Press in September 2005, Celente suggested that Wal-Mart could deflect its negative image with its philanthropy. That’s hardly a stunning insight. Any positive action has the probability of causing a company to look good. This is rudimentary probability. But what profound thoughts did our great seer tell the AP? “We try to refrain from making value judgments — what the motive is. But the fact is that [Wal-Mart was] there with trailer trucks being turned away. Amazing, isn’t it?” Amazing indeed. Presumably, the AP reporter who talked with Celente did so because the reporter needed somebody to describe the situation as “amazing” or “magnificent.” Some casual modifier that might be confused for profound thought.
  • Celente was asked to weigh in on Internet trends by the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Patricia Yollin in December 2006. “People are more electronically connected and less humanly connected,” opined our great psychic. And if that general piece of advice wasn’t enough, Celente also took the time to badmouth public displays of affection, pointing out how unacceptable it was to put PDA in “techno jargon.” Perhaps Celente confused PDA with another type of PDA, but what he didn’t seem to tell the reporter was that acronyms have existed long before the Internet.
Here you have a history of a man who not only makes his living spouting this generalist nonsense at corporations, but who is listened to by the media. If we weren’t all scared shitless, this wingnut would be chased out of boardrooms and newsrooms with pitchforks.
But who needs rational thinking when you have the comforts of defeatism? If you really want to get your dose of passive-aggressive dystopia, just call up Gerald Celente. He’s on Line 2 and he’ll take your money when you have no faith in humanity or when you don’t have a clue about how to do your job. Have him rant in your newspaper. Give him money to advise your corporation. Above all, don’t look at history, science, or specific statistics. Because Celente will boil them all down for you with one of his seemingly pithy and mysterious predictions. And he’ll be right. Because like a trusted astrology columnist or a two-bit faith healer, Celente leaves just enough room in his answer to wiggle out. And you swallow it every time. Because you’re too scared to think for yourself, or do a background check on the guy in the lobby waving his arms.

MARC FABER NEWS

NFE/1.0marc faber - Google Newshttp://news.google.com/news?gl=us&pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=marc+faberennews-feedback@google.com©2013 GoogleFri, 28 Jun 2013 00:51:38 GMTFri, 28 Jun 2013 00:51:38 GMTmarc faber - Google Newshttps://ssl.gstatic.com/news-static/img/logo/en_us/news.gifhttp://news.google.com/news?gl=us&pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=marc+faberDr. Doom? Marc Faber Sees Stock Buying Opportunity - CNBC.comhttp://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGHsuxk-dDyhxcxnCl-sfCXfrBDzg&url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/100841125tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.cnbc.com/id/100841125Tue, 25 Jun 2013 17:08:32 GMT

Moneycontrol.com

Dr. Doom? Marc Faber Sees Stock Buying Opportunity
CNBC.com
The dean of doom, Marc Faber, told CNBC on Tuesday that a variety of asset classes—including equities—may be worth buying for short-term gains. In the midst of market volatility on concerns over Federal Reserve tapering, he said, "Treasury bonds ...
Marc FaberMoneycontrol.com
Marc Faber aka Dr. Doom: S&P 500 Index Could Fall 20% To 30% EasilyETF Daily News (blog)
Dr Doom warns stocks are oversold but S&P readies for another dropCitywire.co.uk

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Marc Faber Forecasts 30% Stock Market Crash, Says Buy Gold - The Market Oraclehttp://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHeIcgHV9wRbIf0mJuPEKrVTZpR4Q&url=http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article41119.htmltag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article41119.htmlThu, 27 Jun 2013 15:40:52 GMT

Marc Faber Forecasts 30% Stock Market Crash, Says Buy Gold
The Market Oracle
The Fed's 'tapering' comments have ramped up market volatilaty and Faber gives some advice for short and long-term strategies. For example: ""The best course of action is to actually not buy anything, but rather to reduce positions on a rebound," Faber ...

Marc Faber: Bull in the short term, bear in the long term - MarketWatch (blog)http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHfnXbptbLywfeYVmkyZmZ2DDp7HQ&url=http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/06/25/marc-faber-bull-in-the-short-term-bear-in-the-long-term/tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/06/25/marc-faber-bull-in-the-short-term-bear-in-the-long-term/Tue, 25 Jun 2013 12:43:25 GMT

Marc Faber: Bull in the short term, bear in the long term
MarketWatch (blog)
... so perhaps it's best left to someone who has historically said “sell.” Marc Faber, author of the ”The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report,” and often called “Dr. Doom” because of his bearish sentiment, says there are buying opportunities — at least in the ...

Marc Faber: Gold a possible canary in the deflation coalmine - MarketWatch (blog)http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEdSfHdIZdAKgZSaeDMUqQz6Ac3lQ&url=http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/06/24/marc-faber-gold-a-possible-canary-in-the-deflation-coalmine/tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/06/24/marc-faber-gold-a-possible-canary-in-the-deflation-coalmine/Mon, 24 Jun 2013 14:53:27 GMT

Business Insider

Marc Faber: Gold a possible canary in the deflation coalmine
MarketWatch (blog)
Here's what Marc Faber, editor of Gloom Boom Doom report told MarketWatch in an email. “Maybe gold is signaling a deflationary collapse of all asset prices. If this were indeed the case I suppose I would rather own gold than government bonds, high ...
MARC FABER: The Way Things Are Going, Bernanke Will Have To Give Us 96 ...Business Insider
"Incredibly Bad Sentiment" Makes Gold & Bonds a Buy Says Marc Faber, as All ...FXstreet.com
“Sentiment on Gold and Bonds Incredibly Negative” – Marc Faber Predicts ...Gold and Silver Blog (blog)
Wall St. Cheat Sheet -Gold Seek
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Marc Faber Sees Further Downside - CNBC.comhttp://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFjIRlyiY6AOMYxMkr6L_cy3PCHHA&url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/100833048tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.cnbc.com/id/100833048Fri, 21 Jun 2013 03:06:42 GMT

Marc Faber Sees Further Downside
CNBC.com
China's factory output weakened to a 9-month low today, and financials saw a huge sell-off today, with the FM traders; and The Gloom, Boom and Doom Report's Marc Faber, shares his economic outlook. There's plenty of room for the stock market to decline ...
Marc Faber: More S&P downside, commodities 'horrible'…except goldMarketWatch (blog)

all 3 news articles »
Marc Faber says 'thanks' to Bernanke - MarketWatch (blog)http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFw6FBq19Oa7Z-kgFqUTh6QhUwZIQ&url=http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/06/18/marc-faber-says-thanks-to-bernanke/tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/06/18/marc-faber-says-thanks-to-bernanke/Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:33:27 GMT

Marc Faber says 'thanks' to Bernanke
MarketWatch (blog)
[An earlier version of this blog mistakenly attributed the comments to Marc Faber's blog. The original comments were made in an interview with Barron's on June 1. The comments were picked up Tuesday in a tracking blog that aggregates Faber's public ...

and more »
Dr. Doom Marc Faber: Don't Bet on New Market Highs - CNBC.comhttp://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGx2ZJJjiUcIAY7pGO0Re_QDfyyYg&url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/100788714tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.cnbc.com/id/100788714Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:51:19 GMT

Dr. Doom Marc Faber: Don't Bet on New Market Highs
CNBC.com
Faber said large cap stocks like McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart "have most likely peaked." However, he thinks there are still stocks that show strength that could continue to appreciate "because all the money flows into fewer and ...

Marc Faber Is Glad He Owned Stocks, Even As He Warned Everyone Of Stock ... - Business Insiderhttp://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNH71e36wHy4eeVNx4RPd5hxby3MTw&url=http://www.businessinsider.com/marc-faber-owns-stocks-warns-of-doom-2013-6tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.businessinsider.com/marc-faber-owns-stocks-warns-of-doom-2013-6Sun, 02 Jun 2013 17:06:05 GMT

Marc Faber Is Glad He Owned Stocks, Even As He Warned Everyone Of Stock ...
Business Insider
"People with assets are all doomed, because prices are grossly inflated globally for stocks, bonds, and collectibles," says the investment advisor in a new interview published in this week's Barron's. But Faber is the first to admit that at least the ...

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Marc Faber notes liquidity squeeze depressing stocks but still buying gold - Gold Seekhttp://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEQgrVW6FlfBnocMrK4PekR18WbBA&url=http://news.goldseek.com/PeterCooper/1371737040.phptag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://news.goldseek.com/PeterCooper/1371737040.phpThu, 20 Jun 2013 13:30:25 GMT

Marc Faber notes liquidity squeeze depressing stocks but still buying gold
Gold Seek
Famously contrarian in his approach, Dr. Faber is usually out of step with Wall Street but has an excellent reputation for calling the major market turns. He does not say he is shorting equities, though he notes emerging market equities and currencies ...

Cheerful Thoughts from Marc Faber - BullionVaulthttp://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEAa_NvXEnALAQETGbirjKhJF6Zlw&url=http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/marc-faber-060420134tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/marc-faber-060420134Tue, 04 Jun 2013 20:10:21 GMT

Cheerful Thoughts from Marc Faber
BullionVault
SWISS-BORN Marc Faber, who at age 24 earned his PhD. in economics magna cum laude from the University of Zurich, has lived in Hong Kong nearly 40 years. He worked in New York, Zurich and Hong Kong for White Weld & Co., an investment bank ...

and more »
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