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stocks

Markets Live Recap: Stocks Rise Despite 3.17 Million More Unemployment Claims

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The U.S. weekly jobless claims number increased another 3.17 million people (versus the 3.05 million expected by economists) today.

That brings the total to 33.5 million Americans unemployed over the last seven weeks.

Stocks shook off the news, however, as the Dow rallied 0.9%.

The Nasdaq rose 1.4% as investors buy into technology stocks that are less likely to be affected by government shutdowns.

Oil was up 10% in the first half of trading, but closed down 3% in a volatile session.

And interestingly enough, gold was up 2% while Bitcoin popped 6%.

Typically, gold is negatively correlated to stocks and goes down when the market goes up.

Here's why our experts – Chris Johnson, D.R. Barton, Jr., and Shah Gilani – think stocks are likely to experience more pain to come.

And why gold (and Bitcoin) might be the big winners over the next couple years...

Economic Data

Here's How to Profit from Plummeting Homebuilder Stocks

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Housing is an issue for all of us – as investors and as ordinary people in need of a roof over our heads.

As investors, there's always lots of housing news toward the end of the month.

The National Association of Realtors releases its "pending" and "existing" home sales reports, which include sales volume and prices, every month. The Commerce Department releases its New Home Sales report.

I like to keep you updated on those reports here.

The news in late October wasn't good. I have been warning about this for months.

Homebuilding stocks have tanked since I suggested in early October that they were ripe to be shorted. It was an opportunity for big profits.

So should we harvest those profits now?

Here's what you need to know from the latest housing data...

Short Selling

This "Uncooked" Data Proves It: Another Housing Crash Is Coming

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The housing market is rolling over – and it will get worse as mortgage rates and house price inflation continue to rise.

Of course, you're not seeing or hearing about this out in the media… yet. That's because, initially, these events will make little difference to the now-booming U.S. economy. Housing stopped being a major economic driver after the last bubble collapsed. 

But make no mistake: It will matter, big time.

I've got some charts that will show you what it's going to look like this time, why it's happening, and most importantly, how you can make some money (think John Paulson or Michael Burry of "The Big Short" fame) when the brewing crisis explodes...