MUMBAI: As governments across the world announce fiscal stimulus packages, as part of their joint efforts to prevent a prolonged global
recession, forecasting economic conditions is becoming all the more difficult, said Marc Faber, managing director of Hong Kong-based Marc Faber Ltd.

"Around the turn of each year forecasts are made for the following year. I find making predictions amidst so much government interventions to be particularly difficult," said Faber, who is also the editor and publisher of the "Gloom, Bloom and Doom Report"

According to him, the additional printing of money across economies for financing such stimulus packages would lead to "higher and higher fiscal imbalances". In such a scenario, Faber expects precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum to outperform assets such as equities
and bonds in 2009.

"I need to confess that I have no idea where the S&P 500 will be in a year's time, but given the catastrophic economic conditions we find ourselves in, I am convinced that governments around the world will increase the intensity with which they will attempt to save the world with monetary and fiscal measures," he said.

Faber feels "geopolitical events" (read wars), apart from weak economic conditions, will increasingly impact asset markets.

"In terms of geopolitics I am deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India," he added, while referring to an article by columnist Madhav Nalapat in his report.