No one will ever accuse Bill Gross of being stingy with his words — or his cultural allusions. In the past, we've seen him use Moby Dick. In his column this month, the Pimco bond king manages to bring up meth addiction, Johnny Cash and French author Jules Renard.

The main point of his column, though, obviously isn't just to bring up two American icons and Jules Renard. This month, he talks about the upcoming "fiscal cliff," which he sees being brought on by the 8 percent GDP deficit.

Well, Armageddon is not around the corner. I don’t believe in the imminent demise of the U.S. economy and its financial markets. But I’m afraid for them. Apparently so are many others, among them the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) and the BIS (Bank of International Settlements)

Gross includes a handy chart showing that the US is in the "ring of fire" (there's your man in black reference) of economies with highest structural fiscal gaps.

He mentions that the idea that US debt is not that bad is a myth (this is where the meth comes in.)

What they’re saying is that when it comes to debt and to the prospects for future debt, the U.S. is no “clean dirty shirt.” The U.S., in fact, is a serial offender, an addict whose habit extends beyond weed or cocaine and who frequently pleasures itself with budgetary crystal meth. Uncle Sam’s habit, say these respected agencies, will be a hard (and dangerous) one to break.

Gross is always entertaining, and this month's article is no exception. 

Edited by: Ben Geier


Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE