You have to admit gold has kind of stolen the show in the metals sector this year. The traditional safe haven investment raced to settle at a record price of $1,218.30 an ounce in early December. Now prices have fallen off somewhat since then, but the gold bulls and the gold bears are still arguing it out over when we might see $1500.

In all this gold rush though, you may have overlooked the significant gains in other metals. Here are a few to watch in 2010.

Platinum: Platinum prices have made solid gains this year, but some analysts say the precious metal could have more room to grow. Used both for jewelry and industrial purposes, constrained supply is an issue.

Copper: Prices for this industrial metal more than doubled in 2009 after a difficult 2008. Copper watchers expect demand for the metal will continue rising as global economies pick up in 2010. Copper is a key component for building projects, autos and electrical wiring, so it is an essential resource for quickly growing countries like China.

Steel: More, more and more seems to be China's attitude towards steel at the moment. Still the outlook for this essential building material is far from certain. Fitch Ratings predicts in a recent report that demand will recover at a "modest pace" over the 12-18 months, but says high stocks and excess capacity should limit price increases.  Morgan Stanley believes such overproduction should recede though and higher prices are on the horizon, driven by rising raw materials costs and China's booming property sector.

Singapore – Alphabet soup is on the menu everywhere here at the APEC summit. Acronyms, painful at the best of times, seem to be used continually by leaders, CEOs and politicians gathered in Singapore. Here’s a guide for those trying to follow the action.

APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, consists of 21 member economies that account for more than half of global gross domestic product – the value of all goods and services a country produces. Members include power players such as the United States, Japan and China and developing nations such as Chile and Indonesia. A key part of the mission: achieving the 'Bogor Goals of “free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.”

 Once famously described as"four adjectives looking for a noun,” APEC sometimes comes under criticism for being little more than a talking shop. Members have no treaty obligations and all agreements are non-binding. Still any event that puts Barack Obama and Hu Jintao in the same room is going to attract the world’s attention.

 ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN has 10 member states, with a combined GDP of US$1.5 trillion. The group’s mission is to promote economic growth and regional stability. Barack Obama will be the first U.S. president to meet with the group’s leaders, including Myanmar’s Prime Minister Thein Sein. The Obama administration has adopted a policy of engaging Myanmar, also known as Burma, in hopes it will push the country toward democratic reforms.

 TPP

Until a few days ago, the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP was little known economic alliance formed between Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei. Now the U.S., Australia, Peru and Vietnam want to join, with the intention of using the TPP as a stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of free trade throughout the APEC region. This may be the first you have heard of TPP, but I doubt it will be the last.

China = 1.3 billion people.

That’s an equation that intoxicates marketers and drives businesses to invest serious cash in capturing the Chinese consumer.

But experts in brand marketing in China warn businesses not to get dazzled by the numbers. China's consumer market is large, but it is also complex, fragmented and fiercely competitive. If you want a piece of the action, you better do your homework and be prepared to stay for the long term.

Here are a few tips from our experts.

Target your customers

Only 33.5% of retail sales now come from China's top 24 cities, according to a study from Ogilvy & Mather Group China. China's smaller cities and towns are a growing market for foreign brands.

However, consumers in these areas have considerably different shopping habits than those in big cities. They are less hurried, spend more time in public spaces and have limited access to the Internet. Differences like these can be crucial for market strategy.

Regional, cultural and ethnic differences have to be considered as well. Chris Reitermann, President of Ogilvy Shanghai, says focusing on a smaller market segment can pay off more than a broad, unrefined strategy.

Have a local partner

There are a lot of benefits to choosing the right Chinese partner and building a strong relationship with them. GM, a long-term success story in the Chinese market, has made out of its joint ventures with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. "They know the market," says GM marketer Joseph Liu. "They help us on the distribution side. They bring the government relationship which is extremely important in China."

Take your time

Both our experts advise that building a brand in China is an energy and time-consuming business. Liu recommends putting someone in China full time to build relationships. Reitermann says studying the Chinese way of life can help you build a marketing campaign that is sensitive to local culture and appeals to local tastes.

Why would anyone hire a delusional liar and convicted felon?

Mark Whitacre, right, at the premiere of 'The Informant' with Matt Damon.

Paul A. Willis, CEO and president of Cypress Systems in California, did just that when he hired Mark Whitacre, the real-life informant in the movie "The Informant!"

Back in 2001, Willis was searching for staff for his small company, which produces selenium, a food supplement that shows promise in reducing the risk of cancer. One of his consulting researchers suggested Whitacre, who has a Ph.D in selenium research and experience running a division of a multinational firm.

“And, by the way, you know he’s in prison,” Willis recalls being told.

For most potential employers, prison wouldn’t be considered happy headhunting grounds. But luckily for Whitacre, Willis was no ordinary employer.

Besides running a business that focuses on Whitacre’s expertise, Willis and his wife also are active in prison ministry work. “Our faith in Jesus Christ says we’re all given a second chance, and redemption plays a big part in our faith,” he said.

“It wasn’t a light decision (to hire Whitacre), but it was totally evident to me he accepted his full role in this,” said Willis, who starting meeting with Whitacre in prison in 2001 and hired him immediately upon his release in 2006. “He’s not blaming anyone, but taking full responsibility … he’s focused on not being bitter, but getting better and moving on with his life.”

Another convicted white-collar felon, Sam Antar, is more circumspect on the subject of redemption. Although he now lectures government organizations and businesses about white-collar crime,  he stops short of saying he’s  "reformed."

“If I tell you I’m not a criminal any more, should you really believe me?” said Antar, who cooked the books in a multi-million securities fraud in the 1980s. “White-collar criminals wrap themselves around a wall of false integrity.”

As more white-collar criminals get collared, questions surrounding rehabilitation will likely grow, too.

Do you believe white-collar criminals can change their ways? Share your stories with CNN.

“My accountant says I did this at a very bad time. My stocks are down. I'm cash poor or something. I got no cash flow. I'm not liquid, something's not flowing.” - Isaac Davis in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan.”

There are a number of metaphors that can be used to describe liquidity in the financial markets. One is to think of every object of value – cash, stocks, houses, art – as pieces of ice, frozen in value. Its liquidity can be measured by its ability to melt and reconstitute itself in value while changing hands.

Cash is highly liquid, because there is little change in value when sold or exchanged – so it melts and freezes quite nicely. Rare objects of art are among the most illiquid – they are auctioned and transferred back into cash once every few decades.

A way I prefer to think of liquidity as is oil. What caused the global economy to sputter last year was the commercial paper market, a financial tool as mundane as the motor oil that sits in the engine pan of every automobile. Imagine, however, the oil in every car in the world suddenly drying up below manufacturer specifications – poorly maintained cars start choking, creating traffic jams worldwide. Even Ferraris begin to ping and rattle.

The commercial paper market keeps companies running day-to-day because a going concern’s accounts receivable rarely matches its accounts payable. Large companies regularly borrow millions for one-day, low-interest loans so they can, for example, make payroll while waiting for clients and customers’ checks to clear. When Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, however, the Reserve Money Fund – the market’s oldest money fund that is fed daily by the commercial paper – “broke the buck”. For the first time ever every dollar invested in the fund was worth only 97 cents.

When you hear about “the collapse of the world financial system,” this is the ground zero event. Investors in the traditionally safe fund suddenly run for cover, exacerbating the crisis. Well-run, profitable businesses with no connection to the subprime mortgage debacle suddenly face a liquidity crunch.

Like Isaac Davis in “Manhattan,” the world banking system found “something’s not flowing.” And many of the efforts of governments around the world are to keep the spigot going.

Nearly 10 years after doing my first story on e-mail etiquette in the workplace, I thought I’d seen it all until I noticed this item in a New Zealand newspaper: “Emails spark woman’s sacking.”

I expected to read another example of inappropriate virtual behavior – a racy forwarded e-mail or some such specimen. But the story was about a New Zealand accountant who successfully sued her former employer for wrongful termination. Why was she fired? Because her notes to colleagues WERE ALWAYS WRITTEN IN CAPS: the e-mail equivalent of shouting. The company claimed it created “disharmony in the workplace.”

It seems we still have some distance to cross regarding e-mail and its impact on the workplace. New research from the University of Queensland in Australia shows that ambiguous e-mails are a major source of workplace stress – even more than volume of e-mail. They leave colleagues and direct reports to wonder: What did she or he mean by that?

Through years of reporting on the topic (and my own bitter experience) here are my golden rules when e-mailing.

Avoid premature e-mailation

Add the address of the e-mail last. Often it is the first, as a reply or “all reply.” This can be deadly because the “save” and “send” buttons are often dangerously close to one another. By putting the e-mail address last, it creates an automatic pause to rethink sending the note, or make sure you are sending the note to the intended parties. It also helps eliminate slips such as dishing dirt by e-mail on a colleague or boss and then accidentally sending it to that person.

Never drink and email

Back in the day, I used to be a party-hardy character, and paid for it with hangovers and e-mail regret (how I wished someone would develop a USB breathalyzer that locks the computer if inebriated).

I eliminated this problem by eliminating alcohol from my diet (which solved many other problems as well). But if abstinence isn’t for you, then at least abstain from drunken e-mails: No machinery, not even computers, should be operated while impaired.

Keep it short

One study by Vanderbilt University shows you can tell the company level of an employee by their e-mail: Top executives are short and to the point (a result of the volume and speed - it  says “I’m busy” ). Middle management is wordy (a result of trying to influence higher ups) and lower-rung e-mails are chatty (more a social function of the work place).

Here, the top execs got it right. Email is a very inefficient tool to sway opinion. Straight forward is the way forward.

Reader responsibility

One study I read forever altered how I view and use e-mail.  It showed that the tone – funny, sarcastic, serious – of e-mails is misinterpreted half of the time. That means unless the sender has the talent of Ernest Hemingway to convey emotion with an economy of words, it’s a coin-toss whether the feelings the note produces in the reader are legitimate.

Anytime I get an e-mail that causes an emotional response in me, I stop and remember this study. And rather than react, I simply write “Thanks!” Or I pick up the phone. Or I press ‘delete’ and go about my day.

Got any e-mail advice or war stories? Share your story with CNN.

DALIAN, China (CNN) – After a decade writing about careers for The Wall Street Journal, CNN and others – as well as thumbing through countless books on professional advice – here is a summation of all I have learned:

Careers are built on two things – your skills and your relationships with people.

That’s it.

Skills and relationships are the DNA of all careers, the primordial soup from which the extravagant feathers, hooves or claws of any livelihood emerge. Of the two, relationships trump skills, because how do you grow those skills? Through your relationships with others – exposure to new ideas, colleagues, teachers and friends.

I was reminded of that at the World Economic Forum in Dalian. While the economy is still in crisis and cost-cutting a top concern, hundreds of business leaders from around the world still converged on this Chinese city. It speaks, I think, to the importance of growing and maintaining relationships not despite but because of the 'Great Recession.'

It struck me how much of the advice given to companies at the forum –the need to take risks rather than being paralyzed by fear, using the crisis as a springboard for growth – could be applied to individuals as well. And yet, fear of losing what you have (namely, your job) rather than what you can gain (future promotions, opportunities) rules the cubicles.

Company leaders talked constantly about the need for innovation – not just new technology, but new ways of doing things, new ways of thinking. Brought down to the individual, I think the innovation can be translated to this: Curiosity.

“I think you’re right, I think that’s true,” Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP told me. “If you want to build your way out of the recession, that’s a critical skill.”

Curiosity about a problem leads to problem-solving; it defuses knee-jerk reaction and fears in favor of a thoughtful, proactive response. Curiosity radiates authentic interest in colleagues, competitors and consumers. Curiosity creates the meteorological conditions required for brainstorming. Curiosity is the key that unlocks passion, which is better than coffee to get you out of bed.

Heroes are created in times of crisis. Unlock your curiosity about the problems you confront, and you just may innovate your way ahead of the pack.

What skills are important in a time of recession? Share your thoughts with CNN.

DALIAN, China - At one of the first conferences of the World Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos” on Thursday, a large white elephant slowly materialized in the center of the room.

The financial crisis still looms large in the minds of participants, as evidenced by sessions like the morning conference on “Management Lessons from the Great Recession.” A word that appeared time and again at that talk: Transparency.

The CEOs on stage discussed how lack of transparency in financial markets helped lead to collapse. Maurice Levy, CEO and chairman of France’s Publicis Group, said in today’s media environment “every wrongdoing will be known,” making transparency crucial. Added Ben Verwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent: “In every industry, you have to increase transparency in every aspect of business.” 

Every time “transparency” was mentioned, however, a white elephant grew from a hint of a shadow into a full-blown pachyderm in the crowded conference hall. Finally the moderator, Helmutt Schutte, gently posed a question to the panel’s sole Chinese participant: How about transparency in China?

“We have too much transparency,” said Sun Hong, chairman of the Dalian Port Company, explaining the strength of the unions and importance in shared decision-making; state-owned companies have further oversight from Communist Party secretaries. He gave a detailed response to a difficult question – and yet, to me, the elephant remained in the room.

Concerns about the transparency in China remain high, especially in light of the recent arrests of Rio Tinto employees on charges of stealing state secrets. Yet the “Summer Davos” conference itself is a testament to the importance of China on the global economic stage. As one CEO said, the recession has accelerated the rise of China.

If transparency is a key lesson from the Great Recession, and if China is key player for the world economic rebound, then what will be the outcome when these divergent forces meet? I would have asked the white elephant, but he was in a rush: Too many meetings to attend.

Pop the champagne, light both candles and sing “Happy Birthday” - the Financial Crisis turns two years old.

Author’s parents, Dale and Rosemary Voigt, at his boyhood home in Jasper, Ind.

There are many dates that can be celebrated as the birth of the Credit Crisis, or the “Great Recession.” (Its official christening, it seems, is awaiting anointment by the historians.) It could be July 11, when in 2007 Standard & Poors finally found religion and degraded the credit rating of 612 securities backed by subprime mortgages. Or Sept. 14 when the Bank of England stepped in to provide liquidity support to U.K. lender Northern Rock.

If you missed the birth, you couldn’t miss the first birthday - a year ago this week the U.S. government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, signaling the start of a wild month that saw Lehman Brothers fold and the crisis smolder into a blaze across the planet.

For me, the crisis began May 21, 2007, when my mother and father put 416 W. 9th St. on the market in Jasper, Indiana – a small German Catholic community in the southwestern corner of the state. My boyhood home.

My siblings talked my parents into purchasing a stairless home better suited for retirees in what passes for the suburbs of Jasper. They purchased the second home, sure that the first would sell fast.

Fast forward two years – through my wife’s surprise pregnancy, the birth of Jonah and his first birthday party this past July – and still, the “For Sale” sign hung on 416 W. 9th St.

In the interim, more than 100 people viewed the house. Two people made offers – one contingent on the sale of her existing home (which didn’t happen) another on approval of a bank loan (which also didn’t happen). My parents plowed $13,000 into upgrades – new carpeting, flooring, wallpaper and paint. My mother planted two statues of St. Joseph in the backyard. (Among the His saintly duties are home sales – you can buy $10 “St. Joseph Statue Home Sales Kits” on the Internet).

The sale was emotionally tough for me. Living abroad since 1996, 416 W. 9th St. was the only piece of real estate in the world I knew as home. It’s where all my letters, diaries and LPs lived. (According to my U.S. driver’s license, I still live there.)

Last month, my family here in Hong Kong got on a plane to visit my parents, but I wouldn’t be showing my boy my boyhood home: The day we landed, 416 W. 9th St. was sold.

From an original asking price of nearly $135,000, my parents accepted a $105,000 offer. “Obviously, we would have wanted to get more than we finally did,” my father said. “But every month paying utilities, insurance, taxes on two homes … there comes a time when you have to bite the bullet.”

While visiting, my mother wanted to take us to the old house and show off all the upgrades that finally led to the sale, but I wasn’t interested in seeing the new, improved homestead. The place remains holy ground where three beloved dogs are buried. The typewriter tap of my first story and first notes playing guitar haunt its newly finished rooms. The front porch is where I stole my first kiss.

Despite market prices, financial crisis and the address on my driver’s license, the old saying remains true: You can never go home again.

How has the financial crisis affected your family? Share your story with CNN.

Remember the anticipation that used to come with turning on a new computer? The graphics were cooler, the load-time faster and the new features in the operating system inspired awe.

When did that end? Starting up my latest laptop was a less than thrilling experience. Sure it was new and shiny, but the user experience was essentially the same as the computer I'd had before. Faster, yes, but the difference to me as a relatively average computer user was negligible. Look I love my new laptop, but it simply is not leaps and bounds ahead of my last one.

So that got me thinking - what would make my mouth drop open these days when it comes to a new laptop? There is only one thing that really frustrates me anymore: battery life. What good is wireless Internet when you can only be so far from a power socket? A 16-hour transcontinental flight and a four-hour battery life do not a happy work trip make.

Acer CEO J.T. Wang is betting other consumers feel the same way. The Taiwanese company has just launched a series of laptops they say have eight-plus hours of battery life. "Eight is a magical number, according to market studies." says Wang. "Because eight hours represents a whole day computing and you don't have to bring a big adapter."

Apparently, the battle to build a better battery is a battle of the bulge – it all comes down to weight. Building a lighter, more powerful battery appears to be more challenging than building lighter, more powerful chips.

As for me, I don't know if an eight-hour battery life is enough. I want 16. Or 24.Honestly I'd be happiest if I never had to plug the thing in at all.

How many hours of computing time would keep you satisfied?