Economist Gary Shilling has agreed to share with BloggingStocks his 18 investment strategies for 2011, beginning with Gary Shilling's Investment Strategies for 2011. But he will only be revealing them a little at a time, over the next few weeks, so check back often!

My investment strategies for 2011 are driven by my forecasts for the economies and financial markets here and abroad. In my view, the overarching reality that will dominate 2011 and, indeed, the next decade or so is financial deleveraging, as spelled out in my new book, The Age of Deleveraging: Investment Strategies for a Decade of Slow Growth and Deflation, which was published in November 2010 by John Wiley & Sons.

U.S. stock futures are lower Tuesday morning, as investors await earnings reports from several major companies as well as data on consumer confidence and housing prices. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8 points to 11,922.00; S&P 500 futures dropped 3.70 points to 1,284.80; and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 9 points to 2,289.00.

U.S. stocks closed higher Monday, with the blue-chip Dow index gaining 108.68 points, or 0.92%.

The Case-Shiller home-price index for November is due at 9 a.m. ET and consumer-confidence data for January will be released at 10 am ET.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union address this evening.

U.S. stock futures are mixed Monday morning, as investors await earnings reports from several major companies. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points to 11,825.00, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.20 point to 1,279.50. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.50 point to 2,269.50.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with the blue-chip Dow index rising 49.04 points, or 0.41%. It advanced 0.7% last week.

No major economic data are due for release today.

U.S. stock index futures are slightly lower this morning following a strong earnings report from Apple (AAPL) Tuesday after the closing bell. Investors are awaiting results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS). Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3 points to 11,808.00, while S&P 500 futures declined 2.20 points to 1,292.50. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.75 point to 2,330.00.

U.S. stocks closed higher yesterday after better-than-expected manufacturing data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.43%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.14%. The Nasdaq 100 moved up 0.38%.

U.S. stock futures are mostly higher this morning as investors await earnings reports from several companies. However, shares of Apple Inc (AAPL) dropped in pre-market trading. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37 points to 11,762.00 and S&P 500 futures gained 2.20 points to 1,292.20. Futures on the Nasdaq 100, however, dropped 12.50 points to 2,307.50.

U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Day holiday. Stocks closed higher on Friday, with the Dow gaining 55.48 points, or 0.47%.

The beleaguered U.S. dollar, which has weakened about 50% versus the euro and about 11% versus the British pound since 2002, is down but hardly out.

The dollar has rallied in the past two months versus the euro (up 8%) and pound (up about 4%), on renewed concern about sovereign debt in Europe. This time, the concern is about Portugal's debt, and the impact continued credit market woes would have on both euro-zone and United Kingdom GDP growth.

On Tuesday, Portugal's Prime Minister Jose Socrates said his country will not need a bail-out, and its budget deficit will be lower than forecast, Bloomberg News reported. He said rumors that the country needs aid are helping "speculators" while hurting Portugal and driving down the euro.

The U.S. dollar staged dramatic back-to-back rallies on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. As the outlook for the U.S. economy continues to improve, money is flowing back into the dollar. A rising dollar has generally been bearish for stocks and commodities, so traders with significant exposure to risk assets may want to lighten up and take profits.

One place to consider putting some cash in the near-term is the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies. As has been the case with most of the pullbacks that have occurred in 2010, the likely next downside catalyst for global risk assets is another re-flaring of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

U.S. stock futures are lower this morning as investors await December's payroll report. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 14 points to 11,632.00 and S&P 500 futures fell 2.10 points to 1,268.10. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 3 points at 2,273.25.

U.S. stock markets closed lower yesterday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down about 26 points.

The December non-farm payroll figures and the latest reading on U.S. unemployment are due today. The payroll data is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists project that 175,000 non-farm jobs were created in December.

U.S. stock futures are lower Wednesday morning as investors await the latest ADP jobs data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59 points to 11,560 and S&P 500 futures dropped 8.10 points to 1,257.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 13 points at 2,232.50.

U.S. stock markets closed mixed yesterday, with the Dow gaining 0.18%, the Nasdaq Composite losing 0.38% and S&P 500 dropping 0.13%.

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"Bloomberg recently reported that China has recorded two straight months of reducing its holdings of Japanese debt; t.his suggests that the Japanese yen has reached the point where it's become too 'strong' for its own good -- or at least for China's taste," says global stock specialist Keith Fitz-Gerald.

The editor of The New China Trader explains, "Considering China has become the world's de facto financier, we'd be wise to pay attention.

U.S. stock futures are higher Tuesday morning as investors await U.S. economic reports and minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 43 points to 11,628.00, while those for the S&P 500 index moved up 3.90 points to 1,269.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 4.50 points to 2,255.00.

U.S. stock markets closed higher Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 93.24 points, or 0.81%.

The trends that drove gold prices higher in 2010 are still in place. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve is buying $600 billion in treasuries in an attempt to keep interest rates low. Low interest rates encourage higher gold prices.

In Europe, the situation is still unstable. The European Central Bank (ECB) has stepped up its purchases of member nations' bonds. Spain is still on the table as a country teetering on verge of a bailout. Until the European mess is settled, gold remains a surrogate currency.

U.S. stock futures are higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average index gained 21 points to 11,530.00, while those for the S&P 500 index gained 2.7 points to 1,256.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index moved up 7.75 points to 2,233.25.

U.S. stock markets closed mixed Tuesday, with the Dow Industrials gaining 0.18%, the S&P 500 rising 0.08% and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropping 0.16%.

No major economic data are due for Wednesday.

Three intermarket commodities are on the move today. The Financial Times reported that the U.S. dollar hit a low against the Swiss franc.

Why is this noteworthy? First the Swiss franc is a separate currency, not part of the euro. With Europe in disarray, the only safe currency is the Swiss franc. Anyone wanting to hedge against the eurozone getting worse would buy the Swiss franc. On the futures market, the March Swiss is trading at 1.05610, up 0.0138 (9:20 EDT). The March U.S. dollar is trading at 80.18, down 0.49.

U.S. stock futures are lower this morning, as investors await data on leading indicators. Moody's Investors Service downgraded Ireland's credit rating by five notches. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7 points to 11,424, while those for the S&P 500 lost 1.20 points to 1,237.30. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 moved down 3.25 points to 2,216.00.

US stocks closed higher on Thursday, driven by better-than-expected economic reports. The DJIA gained 0.36% yesterday.

Data on leading economic indicators for November will be released 10 a.m. ET.