Peter Schiff on investing in Europe and in the euro

Europe certainly has its share of problems, but, unlike the United States, at least it lives within its diminished means. For all its socialism, at least the European Union enjoys a trade surplus and its people still manage to save. As a result the euro will likely be a principal beneficiary of the dollar's demise. That could give Europe a huge boost, helping to contain interest rates and consumer prices on the continent. As a result, the euro zone is definitely an area where we want to invest. Of course, we also want to invest money outside the euro zone, such as in Switzerland, the UK, and Scandinavia, which will also benefit from a strong Europe.

In the long run, the euro as a fiat currency may very well fail like the U.S. dollar. But being the largest nondollar currency issued by a major creditor, it appears certain to thrive in the short term.

~ Peter Schiff, Crash Proof, pp. 179-180

Peter Schiff in the coming boom in China and Asia

Once China allows the dollar to collapse, its domestic purchasing power will surge and its economy will quickly overtake the U.S. economy as the world’s largest. Free from the burden of subsidizing America, the rest of Asia will boom as well.

As it now stands, the United States is the beneficiary of a reverse Marshall Plan, which costs Asian economies a fortune to fund. When they pull the plug, the U.S. economy will go down the drain, and Asian economies will see explosive growth and prosperity. Asia is where the real fortunes will be made. That is why I suggest growth-oriented investments be targeted to Asia. Investing there now is like investing in America in the late nineteenth century.

~ Peter Schiff, Crash Proof, p. 179

Peter Schiff on short selling

It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but an investor of above-average sophistication might reasonably ask, "If the U.S. stock market is a train wreck waiting to happen, why not just sell it short?"…

Here’s why I would recommend against doing this.

Retail brokers normally require investors to hold any short-sale proceeds in U.S. dollars usually earning no interest. The dollar, seen through my famously jaundiced eye, could lose more purchasing power than the security you sold short lost value…

I’ve got a much better idea, which is to borrow dollars and spend them to acquire foreign income-producing assets, using the income to pay the interest. Short selling accomplishes the opposite, as you end up borrowing assets, which will probably have some intrinsic value, and acquiring dollars, which may have none.

~ Peter Schiff, Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse, pp. 112–113