The S&P 500 could nosedive 30% this year as a painful recession takes hold, top economist David Rosenberg says

• The S&P 500 could tumble 30% to around 2,900 points this year, David Rosenberg said.
• The Rosenberg Research chief said the US recession is only starting, and unemployment could surge.
• Rosenberg pointed to gold, bonds, and low-risk stocks as solid bets to weather the downturn.

Prepare for US stocks to plunge, unemployment to jump, and the economy to slump this year, David Rosenberg has warned.

Investors can weather the approaching storm by betting on gold, bonds, and tried-and-tested companies, he told MarketWatch in a recent interview. But they should avoid cryptocurrencies, the veteran economist and president of Rosenberg Research said.