Silver

^ BAD!

I know the feeling, Bruce. I have studied and invested in the US stock market for 35+ years now and I can say that today's stock market is nothing like the market we had prior to about 2000. We had an investors' market then and we have a traders' market now. There were some really good market years from 2003 to 2007 where considerable money was made but a lot of that was from inflated bubbles. I am not a trader, although I have made some money doing that. I much prefer to invest than to trade. Added to that, the US market is not now trading on its fundamentals, which are pretty good at the moment. Instead, it is ALL about the banks, currencies, and sovereign debt. All are a real can of worms, IMO, and there is no way for any of us to determine what the market will be doing tomorrow, let alone 3, 6, or 12 months down the road.

A lot of people talk about "uncertainty" these days, especially on TV. I have a news-flash for them. THERE IS NO CERTAINTY and there never really has been. What people mistake for certainty is a lack of huge and obvious problems at the moment. It is a comfortable illusion that we are ever certain about what the future holds. Unfortunately, it is just such comforting illusions that make people think that the market is a favorable place to put their money. When almost everyone feels that way, we have some great years for investing, such as the 1980s through about 1998 and 2003-2007. When that sentiment turns around, we then have some not so good times like mid 2008 to early 2009. 2011 has been pretty flat with lots of motion but little progress. Many investors are hunkered down right now, waiting for something significant to change in the hope that the investing situation will improve. It could but who knows when?

For myself, my investments are weighted towards big cap stocks that pay dividends, a few bonds (with a very close eye kept on on the Fed and interest rates), some agricultural commodities, some cash, and PMs. I am fully aware that this may or may not be an ideal investment structure but given all the problems in the world today and the markets we have to invest in, it is about the best that I can do. With a bit of luck, it will be good enough.