Flying back from Rwanda earlier this week gave me hours (33 to be exact) of time to reflect on many things. When I completed notes from my meetings in Kigali, I spent some time looking ahead to next year and what we as investors might expect. While I'm usually optimistic, the logical conclusion seems to be pointing considerably more negative than positive. Odds are for a slow-down, maybe even the 'R' word.

Everyone on the planet who invests money is wondering if Ben Bernanke and his Federal Reserve cohorts have another off-script trick up their sleeves to wean the US capital markets and the economy from their $85 billion monthly deluges of free cash. One thing is certain - it has to end eventually, but when and how are sizing up to the biggest unknown in 2014.

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With limited information we make the best decisions we can, and for most people, most of the time, these decisions are based primarily on emotions. We do it because life is busy and we often have little time to gather sufficient facts to make more logical, and most often better, decisions.