'Fast Money' Portfolios of the Week

The traders of CNBC's "Fast Money" think 2009 will be another tough year for the U.S. stock market. The crew is having a hard time finding any signs from either a fundamental or technical perspective that shows the market is ready for a recovery. In fact, the best the traders are hoping for is a U-shaped recovery like we saw in the late '80s.

If the U-shaped recovery doesn't materialize, then it's possible we could see a replay of 1932. In 1932, the S&P 500 fell 15.2% after 1931 registered a record drop in stock prices. The traders are hoping that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has studied history enough to avoid another Great Depression.

The traders think the year ahead will be challenging, but that doesn't mean they subscribe to the end-of-the-world call from Russian scholar Igor Panarin. Panarin thinks that in 2010, America will be split up into six pieces and controlled by foreign nations. The gang thinks this call is ridiculous and that the U.S. is set to grow stronger as the dollar remains the reserve currency of choice around the globe.

Bottom line: The coming year will be a hard one, but stay optimistic, and don't let the doom-and-gloom crowd discourage you from finding money-making opportunities.

The gang recently highlighted trading ideas that play off the alternative energy sector, unusual options activity and the healthcare sector. Here are some highlights from over the past week as aggregated from the show.

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