The optimism on Wall Street about housing is surreal given all the public data on housing values, mortgage defaults, foreclosures and new home starts.

Housing prices are going to fall nationally for another couple of years as foreclosures hit 6-7 million in the next 30 months, and the 600,00 to 800,000 homes foreclosed but not yet listed are added to housing inventory. The headwinds created by this will last until foreclosures peak and those homes hit the market in late 2011 to mid-2012. Foreclosures will not hit historical norms until a year or two from that peak.

I love my country: the chaos, the hurly-burly of democracy, the hard work of quiet people and the great, big heart as shown by our private donations to Haiti at a time of near 20% unemployment and underemployment. We forgive wayward politicians and athletes, let our children make more decisions than virtually any people on Earth and we stand for something -- a true city on a hill. But right now, that city is in political chaos ... and pretty broke.

Although, I don't like to say it, it is time to short the United States.

The biggest bunch of turkeys out there is homebuilders (actually, a group of turkeys is known as a rafter or gang).

President Obama just signed the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 into law, which renewed the first-time homebuyer tax credit until next April. This bill also gives tax breaks to big companies to offset losses in the past two years, and the homebuilders will be among the biggest beneficiaries. Looks like Congress found another great way to spend our tax dollars!

Whether the market can keep pushing higher in 2010 despite our shaky economy is anyone's guess, but we hope that this rally has helped you recoup from some of the devastating losses most people experienced in 2008.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we want to give you six more reasons to be thankful this year. So we've put together a list six trades that should lead you to some very tasty profits in the near future.