Jim Rogers: The U.S. Will Suffer Several Lost Decades

The period between 2000 and 2009 is often referred to as the “Lost Decade” for U.S. investing, as markets were barely able to scrape up any gains over the ten year stretch. But as we have moved on, and markets have recovered from the recession, the fear of a further and possibly deeper recession still persists. Some point to Bernanke and the Fed’s open-ended easing as our undoing, while other feel that our ever accumulating debts will eventually shock markets. Expert analysts and investors around the world have been quick to give their two cents,  and perhaps none have been more vocal or negative than Jim Rogers [for more economic news and analysis subscribe to our free newsletter].

The legendary commodity investor has been down on the U.S. economy for quite some time as he feels that 2013 and 2014 will see markets slip into a deep recession. Now, Mr. Rogers has taken his claims a step further by claiming that the “Lost Decade” was not a one time anomaly for America. Rogers feels that we will suffer several lost decades, as he drew the comparison between our economy and that of Japan; one that has been well documented for years and years of poor market performance and a sputtering economy.

“The idea that you prop up people who are bankrupt is what Japan did. Japan had two lost decades, America will have a few lost decades” said Rogers. That kind of bearishness from a world-renown expert has some investors worrying, as if they weren’t already on the edge of their seats. Luckily, Rogers has been very vocal about which investments he sees performing well in the coming years, allowing those who follow his claims to protect themselves from the possibility of another lost decade [see also Jim Rogers Says: Buy Commodities Now, Or You’ll Hate Yourself Later].

Agriculture and farmland are by far Mr. Rogers’ favorite investments, and have been for some time. Investors can use the PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (NYSEARCA:DBA) and the Market Vectors Agribusiness (NYSEARCA:MOO) for exposure to agricultural futures and producers respectively. Rogers has also stated that he likes both gold and silver, but for the time being he favors silver over its precious metal counterpart. Investors can play the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) and the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) to follow both of these ideas. Although, if we are truly headed for another few lost decades, placing money in the markets may be something you will avoid as an investor, especially with the unpredictable nature of today’s economy.

This article was originally written by Jared Cummans, and posted on CommodityHQ.