The European debt crisis weighed heavily on investors around the globe throughout the fall and into the winter of 2011. Stocks ended the third quarter with another grand dip, resulting in the worst quarter since the 2008 financial crisis for both the S&P and Nasdaq. The drop came just a day after the Dow and S&P see-sawed dramatically, only to close just barely in the positive.
There's good reason to be both optimistic and cautious as we ring in the New Year.
