How much financial bloodshed is necessary before we realize that there is no safe and easy shortcut to investment success? When do we learn that most of our mistakes involve our very own greed, fear, and unrealistic expectations? How do we create a confidence inspiring stock selection universe?

December Silver soared on Wednesday as demand for higher yielding assets increased amid speculation the Fed was ready to implement its new quantitative easing plan.

The current leg up in this market was triggered by the news that many Fed members were in favor of large purchases of long-term government securities. This news came out via the Fed’s September minutes.

The USD JPY hit a key 50% price at 80.40 as forecast, triggering some light profit-taking. Although traders anticipate another round of intervention, there has been no notable central bank activity at this time. This could mean that aggressive traders will continue to push the Dollar/Yen lower into the next retracement level at 80.04.

Risk minimization requires the identification of what's inside a portfolio. Risk control requires decision-making by the owner of the investment assets. Risk management requires a selection process from a universe of securities that meet a known set of qualitative standards.