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2011 was a difficult year for countless retail investors, money managers, hedge funds and just about everyone trading in the global markets. The S&P 500 Index returned a paltry 2.1% (counting dividends) and market volatility and economic uncertainty drove investors into U.S. Treasuries despite record low yields.

The new trading year does not mean last year's problems have been excised from investors' minds, and for some strategists, like Charles Schwab's Liz Ann Sonders, 2012 presents a lot more opportunities for investors. She tells The Daily Ticker's Daniel Gross that the "rampant volatility" that marked 2011 was "unique" and predicts the wild swings that shook the S&P and Dow in 2011 will ease this year, giving spooked investors more confidence to place their cash in equities, specifically cyclically-sensitive sectors. Dividend plays may continue to provide comfort and peace of mind to some investors, but as the U.S. economy

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For the past few months, as the economy has continued to flounder, there have been renewed talks of QE3 — a third round of quantitative easing by which the Federal Reserve purchases mortgage-backed securities to push down mortgage rates and make it cheaper for most Americans to buy homes.

"A number of members" of the Fed's policy-making committee signaled as much in the minutes covering its last meeting in December and "indicated that current and prospective economic conditions could well warrant additional policy accommodation, but they believed that any additional actions would be more effective if accompanied by enhanced communication."

In that statement, whether or not the Fed will take more action remains to be determined, but what is for certain is that more communication is coming from the central bank. Starting later this month, the Fed is set to include rate projections from members in its Summary of Economic Projections,