Bernanke is living up to his reputation as helicopter drops of cash will rain on markets until his academic research is vindicated. It's as most have been saying, "when push comes to shove politicians and officials will choose to inflate." Theoretically, barring heavy central bank sales, investors have been given the green light to buy gold and hold it until the Fed reverses course.

There has been a lot of discussion lately regarding the surge in volatile late-day trading that has occurred since the summer sell-off and fall credit-crisis began to unfold. In November alone, an average of 26.2 percent of trading volume in S&P 500 stocks took place in the final hour of trading, with 17.1 percent of the trading occurring in the final 30 minutes (see WSJ article).

Gold is respected throughout the world for its value and rich history, which has been interwoven into cultures for thousands of years. Coins containing gold appeared around 800 B.C., and the first pure gold coins were struck during the rein of King Croesus of Lydia about 300 years later. Throughout the centuries, people have continued to hold gold for various reasons.

ETFs are an extremely popular investment option, due to their low costs, diversified risks and accessibility. Here, Jonas Elmerraji looks at the various ways of investing in ETFs. He also recommends three small-cap ETFs for penny stock portfolios.