Markets kick off 2009 with sizable rally… what’s behind the best New Year’s rally since 2003…  Obama bounce back in effect… Rob Parenteau on whether his $1 trillion plan will actually work… Dan Amoss on the difference between shorting in 2008 and 2009… Bullish factors for gold (and gold stocks) for 2009… The second wave cometh… more troublesome commercial real estate ripples on the horizon.

Home prices fall… again. The latest record-setting swan dives… Chris Mayer on how to spot the bottom… and what to buy when it comes… World’s biggest companies hold shockingly little cash… global market in the hands of Buffett, China… But can China capitalize? Byron King on how China has “reached its pinnacle”… Russian professor predicts end of U.S. by 2010… will Houston be taking orders from Mexico City? Plus, your prophecies for 2009… and The 5’s editors issue a forecasting challenge

Profit in 2009:  Think like a Fed governor… A “mere” 25 banks failed in 2008… proof that the FDIC expects many more next year… Retail on the brink… preliminary reports suggest holiday consumption even lower than anticipated… So who will thrive in 2009? An unsavory list of stocks prime to benefit from a lousy economy… Middle East moving markets… why news from Kuwait and Gaza is affecting your portfolio today… Byron King on the $200 billion consumer bailout Congress never passed

Fed saves us from ourselves… details of the historic FOMC decision… Dan Amoss and James Turk on the implications of 0% interest rates… Dollar gets slammed… how long until the greenback carry trade? Most companies planning on dismal pay raises this year… how you can stay on top in 2009… So what if Madoff fleeced us for $50 billion? Pennies compared with this long-running scheme… Plus, a new survey the Big Three definitely won’t want to read

Job market takes another turn for the worse… unemployment data at 26-year high… Government solution:spend… budget and trade deficits swell more than expected… Byron King on falling oil demand… and what it means for long-term investors… Gold soars… Ed Bugos with some fresh price targets… Signs of the times… Chinese bank opens in U.S., world’s biggest LBO collapses… Plus, Chris Mayer on the automaker bailout

ur “Obama Rally” forecast… will things “get worse before they get better” or vice versa?… Print in the doghouse… Tribune Co., New York Times and McClatchy looking desperate… Still no bottom in sight for housing… foreclosure, refi and pending home sales data all down… Anecdotal evidence of tough times to come… Wiggin house, office burglarized… Chris Mayer with a sector sell-off that’s gone too far

Government mulls mortgage price-control plan… who needs the free market anyway? Dan Denning on the true meaning behind the recent bull market in bonds. Stocks rally on Beige Book release… did the Fed send us the wrong copy? Bill Gross on stock evaluation for the Brave New World of tomorrow. Byron King with anecdotal evidence that oil is well oversold.

Addison Wiggin and Kate Incontrera look at the implications of America’s large and persistent trade deficit. The country is dependent on foreign products for its energy, food and leisure needs. Simply put: America is consuming more than it produces.  And as this imbalance continues to grow, the long-term risks to the economy become more severe.

Welcome to the Fantasyland issue of The 5…“Shouldn’t worry about the deficit,” assures Barack Obama… “yes we can” keep spending. Can’t balance the budget of your dreams? Call the Treasury… Atlanta’s doing it. Gold still suffering… Ed Bugos’ future fantasies for precious metals stocks. Plus, no one immune to the great housing illusion… the infamous Neverland Ranch shuts its doors.

Paulson reworks financial bailout: New targets for investment… even you can apply! Markets plummet… Bill Bonner on when stocks will be cheap enough to buy. OECD predicts global recession… Germany admits contraction has already begun. Wall Street CEOs forecast “rapid,” “deep” U.S. recession. Joel Bowman on a peculiar hissing sound emitting from the Middle East.