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Despite warnings from professionals, many individuals had minds of their own. Or maybe it wasn’t their minds at all but rather their stomachs that led them away from the nauseating stock market losses and spasms of the last few years.

Regardless of intent, their approach to investing turned out to be a winning one. As the early-year stock surge gave way to a 17 percent plunge and record volatility after May, many an individual fled from stock funds and clung to bonds, savings accounts and gold.

By the end of 2011, they had earned a shocking 17 percent in 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds, an unusual gain given the historic average of just 5.5 percent a year in Treasurys and the warnings from professionals that U.S. government bonds were likely to turn into losers.

Investors also earned almost 10 percent in gold, and they avoided a 20 percent loss if they ignored the emerging-market funds that professionals had been lauding while the U.S. and Europe struggled with debt problems.

It turned out that financial troubles in Europe crimped demand for emerging markets’ basic materials. And as stressed European banks held off on loans to developing countries, the refuge that investment professionals had envisioned began to fade. Although the Standard & Poor’s 500 ended 2011 up less than a half percent, funds that invest in Latin America declined 22 percent, and China funds fell 24 percent, according to Lipper.

Whipsawed by historically high stock market volatility, a collapse of confidence in American and European leadership, the threat of a global banking crisis and a fragile economy, investors pulled $112 billion out of U.S. stock funds for the year and poured $133 billion into bond funds as a safe haven, said Charles Biderman, chief executive of Trim Tabs.

But the quest for safety went farther than bond funds.

People poured $710 billion into savings accounts, the fifth-highest amount in history, Biderman said.

“People have been burned so many times in equities in the last decade they weren’t going to take a chance,” said Biderman. “It’s going to take a long time for huge inflows into equity funds again.”

In fact, investors have been scared since 2008. During the last three years, investors have poured a remarkable $900 billion into bond funds and yanked $242 billion from U.S. stock funds, said Biderman. Despite stronger performance by the U.S. stock market than foreign markets, investors bet more on global funds than U.S. funds. They have put about $89 billion into global funds.

Investors have not regained the money they lost when the market started its 57 percent decline in October 2007. Investing in the Wilshire 5000, or the full stock market of large and small stocks, has left investors with a loss of about 17 percent, or about $4 trillion collectively free online credit report.

Sticking with solid dividend-paying stocks in defensive sectors such as health care, utilities and consumer staples such as soap and toothpaste did help in 2011, as investors worried about the global economy’s sliding back into a recession. The Dow Jones industrial average of blue-chip stocks climbed about 5.5 percent for the year, and funds that invest in health care stocks and utilities averaged gains of more than 7.5 percent as investors sought security and income from dividends. The Vanguard High Dividend Yield exchange-traded fund, which selects stocks paying high dividends, gave investors a 10.5 percent gain.

Amid worries of a new global banking collapse, banks throughout the world were among the worst performers. Funds that invest in U.S. banks declined about 13 percent.

One of the biggest mistakes of the year was to equate precious metal stock funds with gold investing. The precious metal funds, which include gold and silver mining companies, lost 22 percent, while the SPDR Gold Trust exchange-traded fund gained 9.6 percent. The gold ETF invests in gold bullion, not stocks. Still, gold shed a significant amount of its gains late in the year. By August, as investors worried about U.S. and European debt, gold had climbed 33 percent in 2011.

The other mistake was to bet on interest rates’ rising. If rates had risen, advisers’ warnings to avoid bonds would have been wise. But instead, Treasurys soared 17 percent, and the average U.S. bond fund climbed about 8 percent because investors worried about a recession. In recessions, investors tend to want the safety of bonds, and as they pour money into them, interest rates and yields drop while values of the bonds climb.

With yields near record low levels, it’s not likely Treasurys can repeat 2011 gains again.

“Investors need to realize they can lose money in bonds” if interest rates start climbing, said Biderman. Still, 2011 was humbling for anyone making any prediction, and analysts are expecting the same for early this year, as great uncertainty remains about Europe’s fate.

Given that scenario, holding a mixture of roughly half stocks and half bonds may be the best policy. It will relieve dependence on either stocks or bonds and insulate investors from losses in each. That approach with funds for people retiring in 2015 gave near-retirees a 0.11 percent loss in 2011 — a disappointment, to be sure, but also not the type of loss that will ruin a retirement.

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Stocks closed down more than 1% Wednesday, as investors continued to fret over how Europe could solve its debt troubles in 2012. Selling intensified ahead of the close.

On a light trading week, investors have few other economic or corporate indicators to mull before 2011 ends.

Still, traders and analysts said the low volumes led to more pronounced swings, and some of the moves are coming from year-end portfolio rebalancing rather than convictions over the trajectory of all stocks or a particular stock.

"I don’t know what to read into today," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. "There’s nothing going on in the U.S. market. It’s a holiday week."

The S&P fell back into negative territory for the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average () closed down 140 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 () slid 16 points, or 1.3%. The Nasdaq () lost 35 points, or 1.3% .

Dragging down the technology sector Wednesday were RIMM, () Netflix () and Fossil (). The Nasdaq is down roughly 2% for 2011.

Despite Wednesday’s sell-off, the Dow remains up 5% for 2011.

Some traders still hope to close the year poised for a January bounce. To get there, some say 1260 would be the magic number for the S&P to clear on Friday.

"If we could clear 1,260 by the end of the week, we could see a strong rally in January," said Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

If the S&P clears 1258 by year-end, it would mark the third straight year of gains. The index remains about 11% below where it closed at the end of 2007.

Still, after closing at 1250 Wednesday, stocks need to commence a substantial two-day rally to get there.

U.S. stocks have been buoyed recently by signs of improvement in the US economy, including declines in weekly claims for unemployment benefits and an uptick in new home construction.

But investors say the market remains vulnerable as the debt crisis in Europe continues to threaten the outlook for the global economy and financial markets easy to get unsecured personal loans.

One bright spot for Europe on Wednesday was an Italian auction of 3- and 24-month bonds that drew strong demand and yields half as high as the previous month’s auctions. The results helped lift European equities and banks.

Investors will be more closely watching Thursday’s auction of Italian 10-year bonds, which have seen yields continue to flirt with the 7% danger zone. That level is worrisome because it flashed the first warning signs for Ireland, Portugal and Greece, which all eventually needed bailouts.

U.S. stocks ended a listless session little changed Tuesday as investors weighed reports on consumer confidence and home prices.

World markets: Europe’s markets finished lower. Britain’s FTSE 100 () eased 0.1%, the DAX () in Germany slumped 2% and France’s CAC 40 () lost 1%

Economists a bit more optimistic

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite () rose 0.2%, the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong fell 0.6% and Japan’s Nikkei () lost 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: Oil prices eased off the previous sessions spike, slipping $1.64 to $99.70 a barrel. On Tuesday, crude prices jumped 2% after Iran threatened to choke off the flow of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Gold futures for February delivery fell $31.40 to $1,564.10 an ounce.

The dollar fell against the British pound and the Japanese yen but edged higher against the euro.

Companies: Shares in the financial sector remained under pressure throughout the trading day.

Top stocks of 2011

Citigroup (, Fortune 500), Credit Suisse (), Wells Fargo (, Fortune 500), Morgan Stanley (, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (, Fortune 500) closed down between 1% and 4%.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury moved up sharply, with the yield falling to 1.928% from 2.01% from late Tuesday.  

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Wall Street is pointing higher after 23 European nations agreed to tie their economies closer together in hopes of heading off any future debt crisis.

Dow futures rose 0.5 percent to 11,999 before the market opened Friday. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures are up 0.5 percent at 1,236.

The 23 countries, 17 euro zone nations and six prospective members, will try to craft a new treaty that will penalize budgetary offenders that threaten the bloc.

The rising futures are following stock indexes higher in Europe, though they were down from their daily peaks. Germany’s DAX is up 1.5 percent at 5,963 while the CAC-40 in France rose 1.7 percent to 3,148. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares is 1.1 percent lower at 5,484.

The euro is also trading 0.3 percent higher at $1.3384.

Germany and France, the two biggest economies in the eurozone, had hoped to persuade all 27 members of the European Union to back a change to the EU treaty that would impose tight fiscal rules on its members. However, Britain and three others refused to join in.

Many think that a solution to the debt crisis can only come if the European Central Bank takes a more active role, possibly by buying up more government debt in the markets. It currently buys bonds in the markets, but only reluctantly, and in small quantities.

On Thursday the European Central Bank’s president Mario Draghi suggested he had no intention of increasing bond purchases after the bank delivered on market expectations to reduce its main interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1 percent fast cash loans.

Draghi said he was surprised by some interpretations of his comments last week that “additional steps” would be taken if the 17 countries that use the euro agreed to closer budget controls. Germany and France have proposed a plan on closer fiscal unity that will dominate debate at the EU summit of leaders, which starts later Thursday.

Earlier in Asia, stocks were weighed down by an cautious response to the deal.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.5 percent to close at 8,536.46 while South Korea’s Kospi sank 2 percent to close at 1,874.75. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tumbled 2.7 percent to end at 18,586.23.

Mainland Chinese shares fell less than other Asian markets after inflation data for November dropped to a less-than-expected 4.2 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.6 percent to close at 2,315.27, while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.9 percent to finish at 961.81.

Oil prices were fairly subdued _ benchmark oil for January delivery rose 16 cents to $98.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Greece’s tortuous power-sharing talks entered a fourth day Thursday, with the country’s president hosting a meeting of party heads a day after negotiations descended into chaos and political leaders failed to name a new interim premier.

Outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou, the head of the opposition conservatives, Antonis Samaras, and the leader of a small right-wing party were meeting with the president Thursday morning to settle on a new prime minister and cabinet.

The new temporary government’s aim will be to secure a new European debt deal and ensure Greece receives the vital next euro8 billion ($10.9 billion) installment of its existing euro110 billion facility, without which the country faces a catastrophic default within weeks. Elections are then expected to be held in February.

Thursday’s talks come after a similar meeting Monday night collapsed, with Giorgos Karatzaferis, the head of the right-wing LAOS party, storming out in a rage only minutes after entering the presidential mansion. The precise reason for his anger was unclear.

The hope is that the fourth day of talks will finally yield a new prime minister to head an interim government that will secure the country’s continued bailout funding payday loans. European leaders have been pressing for an end to the political turmoil in Athens that has endangered the country’s bailout funding and even its continued presence in the eurozone.

“This is the third time I’m coming here for (this) issue, and I hope it’s the last,” Samaras said as he arrived for the meeting.

Despite three days of wrangling and intense European pressure, Greece’s main parties have been unable to agree on who will lead the new government, which is expected to only be in power for a few months before leading the country to early elections in February.

Greece’s deliberations over the past few days have taken a backseat to developments in Italy where Premier Silvio Berlusconi has announced his intention to resign soon after a new package of economic reforms are passed. But his announcement has done to little to assuage market concerns that Italy is facing a Greek-style economic crisis and the country’s borrowing costs have shot through the roof.

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About 1,000 Libyan revolutionary troops have launched a major assault on Moammar Gadhafi’s hometown, surging from the east to try to capture the last area under loyalist control.

Tuesday’s push to rout the remaining resistance from Sirte came a day after commanders announced they had captured most of a second stronghold, Bani Walid.

Libyan fighters have squeezed the die-hard Gadhafi supporters into an area comprising just a few blocks in Sirte but have been unable to gain full control of the city.

It has been more than two months since the former rebels gained control of the capital and much of the rest of the oil-rich North African nation. Persistent fighting has prevented Libya’s new leaders from declaring final victory and setting a timeline for elections.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) _ Libyan revolutionary forces have captured almost all of Bani Walid, one of Moammar Gadhafi’s last remaining strongholds, but still face pockets of resistance as they try to end a weeks-long standoff, officials said Monday.

Fierce resistance in Bani Walid and Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte has prevented Libya’s new leaders from declaring full victory and setting a timeline for elections. It has been more than two months since the former rebels gained control of the rest of the oil-rich North African nation.

In a step toward normalcy, the transitional leadership council confirmed it has signed an agreement with NATO that partially lifts the no-fly zone imposed in March over the country, allowing resumption of some flights without seeking NATO approval. The embargo was imposed as part of the U.N. Security Council resolution that authorized airstrikes to protect civilians from Gadhafi’s regime.

Anwar Elfeitori, the minister of transportation and communications, said the agreement signed Thursday in Malta will make it easier to transport wounded fighters from the front lines for treatment.

“The partial lifting of the air embargo will help with the transportation of the casualties, which is the No. 1 priority at this time, as well as facilitate the movement of people between Libya and the rest of the world,” Elfeitori told The Associated Press in an interview.

He said the agreement only applies to specific routes and altitudes for humanitarian flights but is designed so it can be amended to include other areas as security conditions allow.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the revolutionary council fighters are making progress short term personal loan. He called on pro-Gadhafi forces “to lay down their weapons and join the new Libya.”

NATO officials have expressed surprise at the persistence of Gadhafi’s supporters. Libyans believe the heavy resistance signals some of Gadhafi’s sons and other high-level regime figures are hiding in the areas.

Fighters in Bani Walid, which has proven particularly hard to capture because of its difficult terrain, said they have entered the city center for the first time but still were fighting Gadhafi supporters in surrounding villages.

“We liberated the city around sunset on Sunday and raised the revolutionary flags all over the city,” field commander Abdel-Salam Genouna told The Associated Press. He said fighters had occupied the central marketplace, the hospital, the hotel and an old fort that had all been used as bases for Gadhafi loyalists.

“We are patrolling the neighborhoods because there are still some scuffles, but otherwise it is completely under our control,” he said, adding revolutionaries also had control of a steep valley called Wadi Zeitoun that had been a sniper base for Gadhafi’s forces.

“Our forces are everywhere inside the city, and we are protecting the few families we found inside,” he said.

He said fighters from Sabratha, Tripoli and Bani Walid were involved in the operation.

Col. Ahmed Bani, a military spokesman in Tripoli, said revolutionary forces had control over more than 90 percent of the city. He said revolutionary forces had suffered heavy casualties but declined to give a number.

Residents and fighters said that Gadhafi forces retreated in the face of the advance over the past two days.

Moammar al-Warfali, a doctor in Bani Walid, said fighters loyal to the new transitional government seized the center, a key hospital and several other high buildings used by Gadhafi’s snipers to prevent any advance by the revolutionary fighters.

He also said Gadhafi’s son Seif al-Islam had been seen in the city as recently as last week.

NATO has pledged to continue airstrikes for as long as necessary, saying pro-Gadhafi forces continue to pose a threat to civilians in Libya.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague also pledged more humanitarian and financial support Monday during a visit to Tripoli.

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TORONTO

Missouri’s community colleges have received a federal grant to train unemployed workers for health care jobs.

Officials say MoHealthWINS, fueled by a $20 million federal grant, will educate 4,600 people through the state’s 12 community colleges and Linn State Technical College. The program was announced Monday by Gov. Jay Nixon, who said it would specifically target unemployed adults seeking new careers.

The funding is provided through a grant program offered by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Among the jobs that would be targeted are certified nursing aide, licensed practical nurse, phlebotomist, pharmacy technician and medical lab technician.

Nixon supported the grant proposal, saying it would offer the state another way to boost its percentage of residents with college degrees unsecured personal loans. Following a similar national goal, Nixon is hoping to push the percentage of state residents with a degree to 60 percent from 37 percent by 2020.

It is unclear how the money will be divided among the various schools.

In the grant proposal, St. Louis Community College said it would use the money to support career counselors and boot camps.

St. Charles Community College said it would train students to work as technicians in several areas, including radiological, medical lab and hearing aid specialization.

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AWARDS

Chesterfield-based Hexagrid announced that its flagship product, VxDatacenter, won the 2011 Cloud Computing World Series Award for best virtualization product.

Hazelwood-based Household Essentials LLC received a Gold Winner award from the 23rd DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation for the company’s environmentally friendly ironing board cover and pad packaging.

GETTING BETTER

Clayco Inc. now holds the No. 52 position among the nation’s leading contractors and the No. 16 position among the nation’s leading design-builders in terms of revenue, according to the Engineering News-Record.

HELPING OUT

First Bank employees in Missouri and Illinois raised $12,151 for the American Heart Association during a recent Heart Walk campaign.

Auffenberg Ford in Belleville in cooperation with Belleville West High School raised $7,230 for the school’s cheer and dance club at a test-drive event.

MILESTONE

St. Louis-based Daniel And Henry Co. insurance agency is celebrating its 90th anniversary.

NEW BUSINESS

Citizens National Bank of Greater St. Louis and Beyond Housing have partnered in developing a community mortgage product to serve low- to moderate- income clients in the city of St. Louis who have limited or no credit history.

TGA Premier Junior Golf, a national after-school enrichment junior golf program, started a new program in St. Charles County, headed by business partners Valeria Williams, Shirley Colvard and Ivan Mickens.

OPENING

Tumi opened a store at Plaza Frontenac.

86 Plaza Frontenac

Frontenac, Mo. 63131

314-432-2360

RECOGNITION

Steven Harris, a certified public accountant and partner in RubinBrown’s assurance services group, was named a Young Professional of the Year by the Urban League Young Professionals of St. Louis.

Midwest Breast Care Center, a St. Luke’s Hospital’s Center for Diagnostic Imaging affiliated center, was designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.

Mosby Building Arts was ranked as the top remodeling company in St. Louis, according to Professional Remodeler magazine’s Market Leaders poll.

Jeffrey L. Zelms, retired former CEO of the Doe Run Co., is among the 2011 inductees into the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum at Leadville, Colo.

The American Red Cross recognized Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Crystal City for a fourth consecutive year as a Gold Level recipient for hosting six blood drives throughout the year. The Red Cross also recognized Christian Hospital for holding blood drives leading to the hospital reaching Gold Level status.

John Qualy, managing partner with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, The Qualy Group in St. Louis, received two proclamations from state officials for his work with Scramble for Kids, a charitable organization that raises money for local children’s hospitals.

SCI Engineering Inc. was recognized by the American Concrete Pavement Association and the Missouri Department of Transportation for the best Portland Cement Concrete Parking Area Project completed in Missouri in 2010 for the company’s high quality testing on the Fort Zumwalt South High School Parking Lot project in St. Peters.

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Stocks are opening slightly lower for the third straight day as investors weigh the prospect that Italy, Europe’s third-largest economy, could be the next country unable to meet its debt obligations. Spain, Europe’s fourth-largest economy, also faces a budget crisis.

Government bond yields for Italy and Spain have shot up as investors lose confidence in the quality of their debt.

Meanwhile, international lenders have not yet confirmed terms for a financial rescue package for Greece no fax pay day loan. That reignited concerns that Greece could default.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 6 points, or less than one percent, at 12,499 in early trading. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down 2, or 0.2 percent, at 1,317. The Nasdaq composite is down 4, or 0.4 percent, at 2,792.

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Factory activity picked up in June after a sluggish May, helped by lower gas prices and some easing of supply disruptions.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Friday that its index of manufacturing activity rose to 55.3. The sector has now grown for 23 straight months. Last month’s growth was the slowest in 20 months.

The stronger reading was an optimistic sign that the economy could be strengthening after a spring slump.

Stocks jumped after the report was released. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 152 points in midday trading, and broader indexes also rose.

“This is additional evidence that the recent slowdown in economic activity was temporary,” said Steven Wood, chief economist for Insight Economists. “However, the strength of the recovery is an open question given other factors.”

A reading above 50 indicates that the manufacturing sector is expanding. Still, growth was muted from earlier this year, when the index topped 60 for four straight months. And other areas of the economy remain weak, such as housing and job growth.

Construction spending declined in May to a seasonally adjusted pace of roughly $758 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. Budget cuts at the state and local level led to a sharp drop in government spending. And home builders cut spending again, chiefly on apartment projects.

Overall, construction spending was barely above an 11-year low hit in February. And it is roughly half the $1.5 trillion pace considered healthy by most economists. Analysts say it could be another four years before construction returns to healthier levels.

The economy grew only 1.9 percent in the January-March period, the government said last week. Most economists predict growth to be similarly weak in the current April-June period.

But gas prices are falling. The average price per gallon was $3.55 on Friday. That’s down from nearly $4 per gallon in early May.

Cheaper gas should allow consumers to eat out more often and spend more on discretionary purchases, such as furniture and appliances. Consumer spending makes up 70 percent of economic activity.

And the impact of a parts shortage stemming from the March 11th Japan earthquake appears to be easing. All three U.S. automakers on Friday reported stronger sales in June after a slump in May.

The ISM report gives investors some hope that growth will be stronger in the second half of the year, said IHS Global Insight economist Nigel Gault.

There were slightly more new orders for goods in June, and employment picked up. Manufacturers are adding to their stockpiles again.

Economists are also counting on a recovery in auto production to boost second half growth. Deutsche Bank economists estimate that improved auto manufacturing could add as much as a full percentage point to third and fourth quarter growth.

Some signs from abroad are troubling, too. Chinese manufacturing slipped to its slowest pace in 28 months in June, dragged down by rising interest rates and declining exports, according to surveys released Friday in China.

That suggests problems in the U.S. The factory sector has been the primary driver of the recovery, growing now for 23 straight months. And strong growth overseas has been a key part of that growth for large manufacturers of industrial equipment and machinery, such as Caterpillar Inc.

The ISM, a trade group of purchasing executives based in Tempe, Ariz., compiles its manufacturing index by surveying about 300 purchasing executives across the country.

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