Q and A with Jim Rogers

Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund, regularly speaks his mind on the outlook for global markets from his new home in Singapore. I have been talking markets with him for more than 10 years. In a Q and A session with Independent Investor, he offers his latest views on China and Korea, on the dollar and the euro, and on gold, silver and other commodities. Here is a short extract from the 20-minute conversation.

I’d like to start by asking you to explain what you think has been happening in the markets in the last month or so. They’ve been very jittery - we’ve had the Eurozone crisis, we’ve had the Israeli situation, we’ve got worries about Korea and so on. Are these worries you share, or is this just normal market action that we’re seeing here?

I hope you and everybody is worried too because, you know, we have great imbalances in the world that have to be sorted out. I mean, we’ve got gigantic debtors in the West, and gigantic creditors in the East, and we’re going to have more problems: more currency turmoil; we’re going to have more financial problems – this is not over yet.

Some people are saying that there is a serious risk of returning to a re-run of 2008 and the banking crisis – is that something you share?

Well, of course I do. There’s no question about that. It may not be the same actors, it may not be the same format, but, again, the United States essentially is bankrupt, the UK essentially is bankrupt. There are a lot of companies and countries in Europe which are getting a lot of press right now, but nobody can pay off these debts.

If you would like a transcript of the full 3000-word interview, please email me at editor@independent-investor.com. The full interview, and others in the series, will be available free of charge for subscribers to read or listen to on the new Independent Investor website. This is currently in beta format and will go live shortly.