Massive unemployment? No problem! Adam Lass of the Taipan Publishing Group says that no one is buying luxury goods right now but he gives us two puts in the retail sector that are playing out well during the crisis.

If there’s a proverb that captures the outlook for the U.S. economy in the New Year, it’s the one that says: “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”

By all reasonable measures, we are already in a recession, says Shah Gilani. Deflation has become today’s number one threat. But massive government rescues mean another bout of inflation looms on the horizon. Shah says investors should look to short vulnerable stocks in 2009. But in 12-18 months, they should be prepared for a “generational opportunity” to make a fortune.

China unveiled yesterday (Sunday) what it described as a “massive” economic stimulus package – a planned capital infusion of $586 billion that it plans to use to reverse its slowing growth, to loosen credit and to offset slowing global growth by stoking domestic demand.

Adam Lass says the vast majority of retailers are ripe for shorting as a new era of thrift grips the US. Aside from bargain stores like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and the 99 Cents Only Store (NYSE:NDN), Adam says investors should buy put options on retail firms. And the best time to do this is when they talk of “better times to come”…

Analysts are trumpeting the recent drop in oil prices as a step toward normalcy. But is this celebration premature? Or perhaps even misplaced? After all, we all know that over the long haul, energy prices are headed in only one direction – higher.

The U.S. markets took a beating yesterday (Thursday) as retail sales sputtered and jobless claims surged.  At the New York close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average Index had posted a loss of 344.65 points (-2.99%), to trade at 11,188.23. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 74.69 points (-3.20%), to reach 2,259.04. And the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 38.16 points (-2.99%), to settle at 1,236.82.

With oil trading near a three-month low (and corn now at a four-month low), U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers may have just the ammunition they need to hold the line on interest rates for the foreseeable future – or at least until their Sept. 16 policymaking meeting.