After a grueling 2009, people around the world are looking to 2010 with hope, but hope seems to remain elusive. Though officially most of the world’s economies have begun to grow again, there is still a lot of economic pain in the foreseeable future.

The good news is that the US stock market is back up about 50%, though still 25% off its highs in 2007. The US stock market usually predicts how the US economy will fare 6-12 months in the future, so if this is any indication 2010 will mark a slow economic climb out of the pit. People can at least exhale and take comfort in the fact that at least the economy has stopped shrinking.

Unemployment will slow the recovery, as it hampers consumer spending, and the excess housing and manufactured goods will contain inflation and wages. Credit is still hard to come by, which will hit small businesses the hardest, another indicator that the economic recovery will remain lackluster into 2010. Taking into account people working part time who would rather be working full time and people who have given up looking all together, the true unemployment rate is closer to 18%. So it will be a long, slow climb through next year with fits of growth and plenty of setbacks.

Still, there is good news. IT companies are likely to do well, as businesses seek to utilize software to make the employees they retained more productive. Online enterprises will allow some of those who were let go to start new businesses for next to nothing, and this is the real wave of the future. The Internet will drive the recovery in 2010.

Some people are still talking about the possibility of a double dip recession, with the economy shrinking again in 2010, albeit more slowly. This is a possibility, especially if the economic supports put in place by governments to keep the economy from falling apart are scrapped too soon. If governments (aka taxpayers) are able to continue to support the world’s economies, we will escape this.

As for investing, commodities are likely to be strong, especially gold and silver. First Solar (FSLR) looks to be a good investment for 2010, though its prospects look hazier into 2011 due to competition from China and lack of incentives for consumers. With continuing international pressure to green the US economy, this may change next year. Medco Health Solutions (NYSE: MHS) looks like a good bet too, as it posted better than expected profits for the third quarter and announced projections for 20% growth in the next year. The maker of generic drugs has secured $4 billion in new business for 2010 and has retained 99% of its clientele, making it look very promising next year. Genpact (NYSE: G), an offshoot of General Electric (NYSE: GE), may be a bit riskier, as it is still sucking from GE’s tit for nearly half of its 2008 revenues. Still, Genpact offers IT solutions that enable businesses to keep costs low.

Two stocks to stay away from in the coming year are the New York Times (NYSE: NYT) and Garmin Limited (Nasdaq: GRMN). They are both moving towards obsolescence.

The New York Times and other newspapers are being supplanted by online news organizations. Since its stock price bottomed on March 9, 2009, it has skyrocketed 131%. As advertising is down, costs can be cut no further, and print media in general suffers from an identity crisis, look for the New York Times’ stock price to flounder next year. Though eventually their online business may save the organization, it does not make up a significant part of it yet for the newspaper to turn a profit.

Garmin Unlimited, the leading makers of GPS systems in automobiles in the US, rose 79% from March 9. This only means it has that much further to fall. With the auto market showing no signs of picking up, its sales are set to be flat in the New Year. With cell phones and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) offering GPS services for free, there seems little hope that Garmin will survive past the end of 2010.

All in all, prospects for a prosperous 2010 look better than 2009, but looking back on the year that was, it really does not mean very much…