Dear Concerned American, 

Walk through any airport this holiday season, and you’ll see signs of affluence that don’t seem to align with the “struggling consumer” narrative.  

The queue for the first-class Admirals Lounge snakes out the door, while travelers swarm to Starbucks for “airport-priced” $9 lattes.  

But step into a Dollar General, or any other discount grocery in a middle-class zip code, and the consumer struggles become more visible.  

Carts brim with house brand products, store specials, and “buy one, get one” bargains. 

(Before you consider buying Dollar General (DG) or Starbucks (SBUX), get my “Sell This, Buy That” list of stocks for 12/3 at no cost here.) 

That’s the defining feature of late-2025 America: an economy with two heartbeats — one pulsing with stock-market wealth and travel points, the other murmuring under credit strain and job anxiety. 

Growing job insecurity is adding to these stressors. Low-skill jobs are facing the strongest headwinds, but white-collar jobs are not escaping the purge either. 

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), for example, has slashed 48,000 jobs so far this year, 14,000 of which were management-level positions. 

What makes this round of job losses feel different, and somewhat ominous, is the sense that many of these jobs aren’t “coming back later;” they’re stepping into an incinerator.  

Amazon openly says it has already replaced 14,000 human roles with robots, and IBM has paused or cut back-office hiring because many tasks “can be replaced by AI.” 

(Despite Amazon getting more “cost-efficient” through its firings, see why I have rated it a “SELL” here. Instead, grab my buy recommendation that’s more like ‘buying Amazon in 2005.’) 

The announcements from Amazon and IBM are but two small pieces of a frightening mosaic. The World Economic Forum sees 14 million net jobs disappearing by 2027 as AI and automation infiltrate the workplace, while Goldman Sachs predicts the tally of at-risk jobs globally could soar to 300 million by the end of the decade. 

America isn’t collapsing; it’s diverging.  

One economy floats on capital gains, low debt, and algorithmic productivity.  

The other grinds through higher prices, variable hours, and rising delinquencies.  

The “Two Americas” may share the same checkout line and the same job market, but they don’t share the same footing. 

These risks do not demand panic-selling of tech stocks, or a full-scale retreat into cash, but they do demand a fresh and candid look at the stocks we do (and don’t yet) own. 

For example, the cautious investor might want to lighten up on high-flying AI stocks like the three I reveal right here. Because many of these stocks are “priced for perfection,” even small doses of bad news can cause outsized selloffs. 

On the flipside, I suggest a partial shift toward the sectors and companies that either possess defensive qualities or underappreciated growth potential – like the three names and tickers I give away as BUY recommendations here. 

Take a moment now to get my top 7 buy and sell trade ideas for the age of “Two Americas.” 

I’m giving away all my timely analysis, stock names and tickers right here at no cost today. 

Sincerely, 

Eric Fry
Senior Macro-Investment Analyst, InvestorPlace

P.S. I recently closed out the following winning trades in Fry’s Investment Report… 

Liberty Energy Inc. (LBRT): +31.6% 
TotalEnergies SE (TTE): +51.2% 
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO): +86.2% 
GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (GEHC): +7.4% 

HP Inc. (HPQ) –13.5% 
Third Avenue International Real Estate Value Fund (REIFX): +13.6% 
Oracle Corp. (ORCL): +27.3% 
GLOBAL X URANIUM (URA): +53% 

On average, this group has delivered a total return of 32.2%. 

But I believe these 7 trade ideas could be even bigger. And they won’t cost you a penny… Grab my recommendations and analysis here.

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