Commodities will rebound in the New Year, says Martin Hutchinson. Supply and demand fundamentals remain bullish for natural resources. Even more importantly, massive increases in the money supply will create inflation, against which hard assets are an important hedge. Martin gives five ways to play this trend in 2009.

Puru Saxena sees a historical opportunity for long-term gains amid the current financial meltdown. There is currently around $3.5 trillion sitting on the sidelines, waiting to be invested in strong sectors. Puru says natural resources and industrials still have strong fundamentals, meaning they may never again be as cheap as they are today.

It’s inflation or die for global central banks, says Eric Roseman. The market is pricing in a deep recession and a stretch of deflation. But in the coming year, these desperate reflation policies will work. And when they does, inflation-hedging hard assets will soar. Eric says this makes now the perfect time to accumulate gold.

The Fed’s drastic rescue measures for the economy are sure to keep the US dollar in the doldrums, says Martin Hutchinson. Foreign governments – which have long supported the greenback – are slowly diversifying their holdings. Martin says investors should play this long-term trend by buying hard assets and international stocks.

America’s credit-based consumer economy is dead, says James Howard Kunstler. The government and its zombie banks are trying to preserve the status quo. But activities based on getting something-for-nothing will soon be replaced by those producing the things we need to survive. And in this economy, there will be enough work for everyone…