Look, 2009 was a "flush" year. Market rallies were constrained by the low baseline set at the end of 2008, unemployment was high and caution defined nearly every corporate decision. The travel market sucked. The art market sucked. The financial industry labored on with the support of taxpayer money while 140 banks were forced to call it quits. So, we turn to the new year, as yet undefined, for excitement of the type we want ... and it seems likely to deliver. As Nero played from the rooftops, the social media industry inched forward to the climax we hope to see this year -- the initial public offering.

The action hasn't really begun, and the signals emitted are open to various interpretations. Nonetheless, Facebook's new dual-class stock structure is hard to miss, as it would protect the influence of early entrants to the company -- either as investors or options-compensated employees in the event that the 350 million-strong social networking site brings ownership opportunities to the public.

"Decades of rampant economic growth have taken their toll on Chinese waterways; a recent survey found that nearly all -- 95% -- of urban water samples were polluted," explains China expert Tony Sagami.

In The Asia Stock Alert, he suggests, "Duoyuan Global Water (NYSE: DGW) recently went public on the NYSE; I believe it's the most profitable way to profit from China's desperate need to clean up its polluted water."

"Much of China's meager water supply isn't safe to drink. One-third of the country's rural population -- an estimated 360 million people -- does not have access to safe drinking water because more than 70% of China's rivers and lakes are polluted.