George Soros Says We're In A Crisis Like 2008

George Soros spoke at an economic forum in Sri Lanka on Thursday. The legendary investor said that global markets currently face a crisis that could be compared to the one seen in 2008, and advised investors to be extra cautious in this backdrop.

China’s struggle to find a new growth model and the devaluation of the Yuan are hurting most of the world, he explained. “China has a major adjustment problem. I would say it amounts to a crisis. When I look at the financial markets there is a serious challenge which reminds me of the crisis we had in 2008.”

SocGen: Right To Be Nervous

On Thursday afternoon, Societe Generale Global Strategist Kit Juckes appeared on Bloomberg and was asked about the issue. We are not in the same market situation as we were in 2008, but “we are right to be nervous,” he assured –- although this does not mean a crisis in necessarily going to occur.

In an emerging market economy like China, “the equity market isn’t the economy, but the policymakers are trying to manage one big thing in the economy, which is rebalancing from manufacturing, exports, infrastructure spending towards consumption and services; and they are trying to manage the equity market, and they are trying to manage the currency,” Juckes explained, adding that, historically, he has not seen anybody very skilled at managing these kinds of adjustments.

This remains a challenge, even for a government as strong as the Chinese, he said.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.