President Obama's freshly signed $787 billion stimulus package will have little favorable impact on the economy and a global economic downturn may continue for five to 10 years. That bearish view is held by Marc Faber, a Hong Kong-based economist and money manager who was in Honolulu yesterday to speak at the annual CFA Hawaii economic forecast dinner.

"I don't think it will have an impact on the economy, in fact I think the impact will be rather negative," said Faber, known to some as "Dr. Doom" as publisher of "The Gloom Boom & Doom" newsletter.

"Even if it were $3 trillion, in my opinion it would not have a (lasting) impact compared to the wealth destruction that has occurred."

Faber, who is frequently interviewed and quoted on CNBC and financial publications, said he sees the government injection as possibly accelerating the inflation rate and potentially saddling future generations with more debt.

Instead of the stimulus deal, Faber said Obama should have told people they were in for a tough three years as real estate, investment and business prices withered. That stepping back and letting asset prices decline would bring in new investors who saw value in buying up the properties.

Faber has attracted a following in correctly predicting Wall Street's 1987 meltdown, along with the burst of the Japanese bubble in 1990.

Last July, he said a U.S. recession had started in 2007, making the pronouncement a full five months before the National Bureau of Economic Research did.

To be sure, not all of his forecasts hold true, and his estimate of the recession starting in October 2007 was two months early.

But late last year, Faber correctly surmised that a monthlong advance by global stocks might continue to rise for a period before drifting lower because of a slide by the world economy into recession.

At the time, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was at 871.63 and gradually rose above 930 during the next several weeks before heading down again.

Faber yesterday said the economy may look like it is brightening given reports due out in March and April, but that stock markets will probably sink again in the summer.

"To go back to peak economic activity, which probably was at the middle of 2007, will take a very, very long time. Maybe five years, maybe 10 years," he said.

He also said:

• Part of the United States' problems stem from leaders not recognizing problems with debt growing faster than the gross national product since 1980.

• The U.S. economy needs to be rebalanced to encourage savings and capital formation.

• Gold and shares in gold-related companies remain a favorite investment of his.

• Obama should have appointed Cabinet members who were committed to a more dramatic change in monetary and fiscal policy.

• Hawai'i's tourism counts will decline as long as the global economy has problems. But there also are factors such as Japanese residents' urge to travel and growth in tourism from other Asian countries that may soften the decline.

But Faber still sees tough years ahead.

"In general, I would say the news will remain bleak," he said.