House prices to halve - the FTSE to fall by even more - This is Money

House prices to halve - the FTSE to fall by even more - This is Money

House prices slumping by 50 per cent or more. Big-name companies failing in their hundreds. The FTSE declining for decades in a series of steep crashes, interspersed with smaller rallies.

These are the apocalyptic visions of respected - and to date uncannily accurate - economist and investment manager David Kauders.

For many years Kauders, who recommends his clients invest only in UK and US government bonds, has warned about rising levels of debt. In the late nineties, for instance, he warned that 'with growth in GDP less than growth in lending, the sensible conclusion is that America's boom is artificial.' As you would imagine, his warnings became more strident as time went on.

The credit crunch and banking crisis of 2008, which he more or less predicted, has given him greater authority. Now he has outlined in detail what he thinks will happen next in his book The Greatest Crash.