Business news stories from 2005 - when viewed from the future - cover a wide number of topics, however one word seemed to denominate the year: China.

Business news stories about the "emerging" China market seemed to foretell coming events.

The Fed's Open Market Committee is meeting today and tomorrow, but don't expect any change in interest rates.

With Fed money near 0%, it can't go much lower (unless they decide to pay banks to borrow more).

The real question is how and when will the nation's bank begin unwinding the extraordinary measures put in place to prevent the economy from plunging into a depression.

Some observers fear (correctly) that the exit strategy may be very risky, requiring a cautious Goldilocks touch - not too fast and not too slow, but just right.

The committee will issue a statement tomorrow, which will be examined in detail for any hint of possible future moves.

Stay tuned.

Follow me on Twitter

When retail gasoline prices topped $2 per gallon in the spring of 2004, pundits issued dire warnings of economic doom.

If they had only known what was coming, $2 per gallon would have seemed like a bargain. In fact, it still seems like a bargain.

Follow me on Twitter

In 2003, the bear market finally began to reverse itself.

The Dow ended the year higher than it started, unlike the previous three years when it ended the year lower than it started.

What changed to make this the turnaround year?

One part of a series of articles looking at important stock market stories for the decade.

Follow me on Twitter