double dip

It you're feeling sick to your stomach, you're not alone. The stock-market roller coaster of the last couple of weeks -- culminating with Thursday's 500-point plunge on the Dow -- has been enough to make even the most stoic investors sweat. But here's how you can turn uncertainty into opportunity.

Some recent reports on the real estate market show home prices starting to stabilize in many areas. Other data suggests the housing market has further to fall. But whichever direction the numbers are heading, there are few tenets that smart buyers and sellers should always follow.

Forget the gloomy predictions: According to Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley, U.S. consumers are a year ahead of schedule in repairing their household balance sheets, giving them the ability to start spending again soon. And the head of the IMF was explicit Monday: A double dip is unlikely.

Consumer spending rose in July at the strongest pace in four months as incomes rose slightly. But will it be enough to sustain an economic recovery? Sure, the 0.4% increase in spending reported by the Commerce Department on Monday is a relief after being hit with a bunch of weak data for July. But...

Economist Nouriel Roubini, known for his dire predictions about the economy, is once again living up to his nickname "Dr. Doom." Due to continuing economic troubles, Roubini pegs the chances of a double dip recession at 40%.

After falling for three straight months, unemployment rates rose in most U.S. metropolitan areas in June. Is this growing joblessness more evidence of a double-dip recession?

Recent earnings reports from a range of retailers sounded almost bipolar: The first quarter was great, but the second half won't be. In this case, they may be more concerned about spinning Wall Street's expectations than they are about a double-dip recession.

Last week, the average for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed to 5.21%, the highest it has been since August. What that means for housing market is probably nothing good. And nothing could be worse than a double dip, where home prices start sliding again.

Overall U.S. home values declined again in the fourth quarter of 2009. While prices in some markets appear to have hit bottom, values are slipping again in many parts of the country, even in some areas that had seen some gains.