What did you think about 2011, well…..
Fasten Your Seatbelts, It’s Going to Be a Bumpy Year
Sure, U.S. stocks sank at various parts of the year (2011), including the period after the debt downgrade. But a late-year rally left major averages about where they began, as if the year was placid, not full of panic.
Last week, stocks fell 0.6% leaving the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 5.5% on the year. The Nasdaq Composite closed the year down 1.8%, and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was flat (actually off 0.003%).
Predicting what 2012′s surprises will be is no easy task. Last year’s Sunday Journal outlook warned of rising interest rates and falling bond prices. But the experts were confounded: U.S. government bonds continued to rally.
We did get some predictions correct, such as anticipating China’s ability to rein in inflation without causing a severe economic downturn. It’s not clear whether Chinese leaders will continue to have such success in 2012, however.
Read more about some possible surprises for 2012 and beyond, based on views of some leading investors and analysts here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204720204577128990068112940.html
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