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The economic recovery is slowing down and recent unemployment numbers are depressing. Investors need not search too far for a safe bet- they can follow the line of valuable assets headed to the pawn shop or payday lending store.

Even as state governments crack down on short-term lending, these establishments are becoming more popular.

EZcorp Inc. is just one pawn shop operator benefitting from the trend. For five years, its stock has increased 46 percent annually, on average. Stock price has doubled from just one year ago and Wall Street experts predict it will go even higher than its current $38 per share price.

Companies like this continue to profit from people who are hard-pressed for cash.

Advance America Cash Advance Centers offers payday loans to the public and has also seen its stock price double in one year. Rival Cash America International Inc. experienced a 64 percent share price increase, with its stock currently selling for $58 per share.

Even debt collectors like Encore Capital Group are getting a piece of the pie. Profits for this company increased almost 50 percent in 2010, despite several class action suits.

People who are unable to afford big-ticket purchases seem to be turning toward renting them. Rent-A-Center, the popular company that leases electronics, furniture, and appliances, saw its stock price jump 57 percent in the past year.

“Desperation stocks” like this are profiting from the abundance of bad economic news disseminated by media outlets.

For the past two months, inflation-adjusted consumer spending has decreased. This is the first back-to-back monthly fall since November 2009. Stocks are reeling from the recent announcement of a June unemployment rate of 9.2 percent.

With one in seven Americans living under the poverty line, payday lenders, pawn shops, and rental centers seem to have their profits locked in for the near future.