The 2008 financial crisis could be just a precursor to a more severe economic fallout on the horizon, closely followed contrarian investor Marc Faber told CNBC on Thursday.
The publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report told "Squawk Box" he's concerned about the possibility of a new financial crisis developing in the second half of this year.
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As a percentage of the advanced economies, total credit—including corporate, government and consumer debt—is 30 percent higher than it was in 2007, Faber said. "I don't think the economy is recovering at all. We have in the American economy a slowdown."
Under that scenario, "stocks in the advanced economies are basically fully priced," he argued, and said government bonds are expensive, given their low yields.
"The most under-appreciated asset is cash," even though investors won't earn any money and will actually lose money in the long-term because of Federal Reserve-induced dollar depreciation, Faber said.
"For the next six months, maybe cash is the most attractive." He also cited the crisis in Ukraine among the geopolitical problems that serve as a negative for the financial markets.
Appearing on CNBC last month, Faber had said he expects the selling in the momentum names to spread to the broader U.S. stock market. He predicted a correction later this year.
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—By CNBC's Matthew J. Belvedere