William Patalon III says the US economy is heading into recession and there is little the Fed or Treasury can do to stop it.

But that doesn’t mean contrarian investors can’t make a profit. History is littered with examples of investors that made a fortune during the darkest days for the economy.

William has a four-point plan to beat the bear this time round: 1) Load up on high dividend stocks; 2) Buy gold; 3) Stick to ‘global titan’ companies; and 4) Stay relaxed…

Wall Street is on its knees, and the taxpayer is on the hook for well over a trillion dollars to prop up the financial system.

Meanwhile, the wider US economy is sliding into a recession.

William Patalon III says there are four solid ways to protect your portfolio from these forces: 1) Buy dividend-paying stocks; 2) Buy gold; 3) Buy companies focused on overseas market; and 4) Don’t panic…

Martin Hutchinson in Money Morning says that over the long-term oil and agricultural commodities are likely to deflate.

This is because, once the threat posed by the US housing crisis has passed, the Federal Reserve will be forced to increase interest rates to fight inflation. Other countries will follow, which will deflate the commodities boom.

However, over the short-term, gold, whose movements are directly linked to inflation, is likely to bounce. Martin reckons a price tag of $1,500 an ounce for the yellow metal is entirely possible. He recommends two ETFs and four gold miners to profit from this situation…

MoneyMorning.com is one of our favorite contrarian investing websites here at Contrarian Profits. That’s because it puts out tons of great investing insights every day.

And today is no exception. Money Morning has just published a great special report: The Five Best Ways to Invest in Gold Today.

Frankly, this is one of the best gold investing guides we’ve come across. It’s well worth reading. And considering gold prices have already jumped 43.25% in the past year, it could prove extremely lucrative…

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is caught between a rock and a hard place right now. Sure, he would prefer that you focus on “core inflation,” since it excludes sharply rising food and oil prices. But we all have to eat and we all consume energy.

Editor’s Note: The dollar’s weakness is gold’s strength, says Mike Caggeso. As inflation pushes the dollar downwards, it pushes gold in the opposite direction. You should invest in gold now before the Federal Reserve raises interest rates and spoils the party.

Gold jumped today in London over market fears of an Israeli attack on Iran. Bloomberg reports that gold for immediate delivery rose $5.06, or 0.6 percent, to $930.46 an ounce by 12:05 pm. Futures rose $3.50, or 0.4 percent, to $931.80 in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The World Cup scheduled for 2010 in South Africa is showing deep cracks in the country’s economy — positioning investors to reap gains of 129%.

Gold prices have skidded about 15% since the “yellow metal” hit an all-time record of $1,032 an ounce on St. Patrick’s Day.

The gold bugs must be scratching their heads. After all, it’s just not supposed to work this way.

Back in October - when gold was trading at only $770 an ounce - I told Money Morning readers that the “yellow metal” was looking like a very good bet