2011 Investing Strategies: Readers Turn to Silver, Avoid U.S. Dollar in the New Year

After a year of rocky economic recovery and a mixed bag of U.S. data, market strategists are waxing optimistic about the profit prospects in 2011. " There is still an awful lot of pain out there for sure, but if you get this creeping confidence to accelerate a little bit, it's surprising how fast things can turn, " Sandy Lincoln, chief investment strategist at M&I Investment Management , told MarketWatch. A year plagued by Europe's debt contagion, the May 6 market "flash crash" and constant fears of a double-dip recession caused many investors to keep money parked on the sidelines.