Jim Rogers: I own a lot U.S. dollars and I’m Short U.S. Stocks

Barron’s Asia: So what’s your big picture view of global markets?

Jim Rogers: People tend to think stock markets are fine because the U.S. averages are okay but the S&P500 is up only because of a few stocks- twice as many stocks on the NYSE are down as those that are up. Amazon ( AMZN ) continues to soar but most things in the world are down. It makes me worried. What seems to be happening now is the U.S. is the only place where you can earn interest or dividends so more and more money is flowing into the U.S. and crowding into a few stocks.

I own a lot U.S. dollars and I’m short U.S. stocks. The dollar continues to be strong and it looks like it’s going to go higher and higher. It’s good for me because I own dollars but it’s causing more distortions in the world. People flee into the dollar to earn returns and to seek a safe haven. It has been a safe haven historically but won’t be in the future because it’s going to get overpriced and might even turn into a bubble depending on how chaotic things get in the rest of the world. Also, the U.S. is the largest debtor nation in history. But given few choices at the moment, people buy into dollars. If it turns into a bubble, I hope I’m smart enough to sell my dollars at that point - in Barron’s

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Jim Rogers started trading the stock market with $600 in 1968.In 1973 he formed the Quantum Fund with the legendary investor George Soros before retiring, a multi millionaire at the age of 37. Rogers and Soros helped steer the fund to a miraculous 4,200% return over the 10 year span of the fund while the S&P 500 returned just 47%.