Marc Faber: Treasurys Are A "Suicidal Investment"

Marc Faber, who just like Nassim Taleb has never hidden his disdain for investments in US-backed paper, is back to bashing Treasurys, although with logic diametrically opposite to that espoused by those such as Morgan Stanley who see rising rates as a sign of economic growth. "This is a suicidal investment,” Faber told Bloomberg in a telephone interview from St. Moritz, Switzerland. “Over time, interest rates on U.S. Treasuries will go up. Investors will gradually understand that the Federal Reserve wants to have negative real interest rates. The worst investment is in U.S. long-term bonds.” As for equities, Faber increasingly sees a Zimbabwe outcome: “If you print money, the currency goes down and the S&P 500 goes up. By the end of 2011, people will look at 2012 and think 2012 could be a very bad year because the policies applied are not sustainable and create a lot of instability. Investors may look at 2012 and 2013 with horror.” Not Wall Street thought. By the end of 2011, bankers will most likely be looking at the second consecutive record bonuses year, and by then will have enough gold safely stashed away in non-extradition countries to where the host organism may finally be allowed to die in peace.

Treasury 10-year note yields will rise to 5 percent from yesterday’s level of 3.349 percent, Faber said, without specifying a time frame. As bonds fall over the next decade, he said investors should buy precious metals, real estate or equities. U.S. debt has returned 5.7 percent in 2010, more than erasing last year’s 3.7 percent loss, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index.

Treasuries fell today as reports showed initial jobless claims dropped more than forecast, U.S. businesses expanded at the fastest pace in two decades and pending home resales beat expectations. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note advanced 0.04 percentage point to 3.39 percent at 1:54 p.m. in New York, according to BGCantor Market Data.

Faber correctly predicted in May 2005 that stocks would make little headway that year. The S&P 500 gained 3 percent. He was less prescient in March 2007, when he said the S&P 500 was more likely to fall than rise because the threats of faster inflation and slower growth persisted. The S&P 500 then climbed 10 percent to its record of 1,565.15 seven months later, and ended the year up 3.5 percent.