Another year has gone by, with only marginal improvement in the overall domestic economy. Markets continue to demonstrate wide mood swings, holding on to every glimmer of hope, only to come smashing down as soon as the next dark cloud appears on the horizon.

We saw the emergence of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe coupled with the issuance of new regulations such as Basel III, Solvency II and Dodd-Frank; the battle over the raising of the U.S. debt ceiling followed by the temporary reprieve granted by Congress; the Arab Spring and the fall of Gaddafi in Libya; flooding in various regions around the world; continuing tensions between North and South Korea, and between China and several of its neighbors; the end of Osama bin Laden; rioting in London, the suburbs of Paris and downtown Oakland; escalating energy and food prices; rising then falling commodity prices; the threat and then the aversion of hyperinflation in China — so much turmoil, so much turbulenc