What to Watch

“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

—Luke 21:36

Will stocks continue their rapid decline? That could mean consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of America’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), will also dry up, sending the U.S. and the world into a deflationary spiral unparalleled since the 1930s.

In January, 11 of the European Union’s 15 member nations will adopt a single currency. Will it spur stronger economic growth or produce economic and political paralysis? Bible prophecy says this European economic system is destined to replace America as the economic leader of the world, though only for a short time, until she likewise comes crashing down in financial ruin.

Called “Y2K,” this debacle may have a simultaneously devastating effect on the world banking and business systems because it reads the new century as “00” instead of “2000.” These problems will begin to show up in 1999 as future dating in computer databases becomes more of a problem.

Watch the spreading effects of Asia’s crisis—it’s growing worse.

U.S.—IMF

Will the U.S. Congress approve funding for the International Monetary Fund or will it recognize that the IMF’s prescriptions are killing their patients?

Russia

Will it stabilize after its bankruptcy, or must it rely on nuclear weapon and technology sales to rogue nations in order to beef up its economy?

China

Will it devalue its currency, the yuan, thus causing more currency devaluation throughout Asia and the rest of the world?

Japan

Will it rescue its economy and pull Asia out of financial trouble, or will the yen and the Nikkei stock exchange be like an anchor around the world’s neck?

Hong Kong

Can it hold its currency peg to the U.S. dollar, or will currency speculators win the struggle and destabilize the world for their own profit?

South Korea

Will South Korea and Thailand finally show signs of recovery, or will they also sink like the Titanic and take billions of the international community’s dollars with them?

Latin America

Are the Latin American economies, particularly Venezuela and Brazil, falling deeper into collapse, revealing the spreading tentacles of the Asian crisis?