5. Joblessness. The unemployment rate has eased a bit, but it is still above 10 percent and is likely to stay there until at least June. That should be significant enough to put real political pressure on elected officials. And when those folks are uncomfortable and insecure about their future, policies are adopted and money gets spent. As long as the jobless rate is above 10 percent, the politicians' bias toward sitting back and doing as little as possible shifts toward one of getting things done. And that brings us to our next topic.

6. Health Care Reform. Talk about getting things done. Absent a nationwide, single-payer public option, health care reform feels a bit more evolutionary than revolutionary, although it is quite a big evolutionary step at that, insuring millions more people. The House and the Senate still must reconcile their bills and send a final version to President Obama, who then can claim a huge political success. Government policy is always a huge driver of business and the markets. When the smoke clears, expect the insurance companies and drug companies to benefit from a larger market, albeit one with perhaps slightly lower margins.

7. Bank Busts. There were 133 bank failures in the U.S. in 2009, up from 25 in 2008 and more than any year since 2002. That is one reason why consumers and businesses are having a tough time getting access to capital. Larger banks have avoided bankruptcy thanks to government bailouts and mergers with sounder institutions. If anything, the larger banks are even less inclined to lend money to individuals and small and medium-size businesses. As long as that's the case, the economy will be in slow-growth mode at best, and the unemployment rate will be in the trouble zone. One way or another, the federal government must get the banks that it has saved to start lending more money.

8. Copenhagen. Yes, it was a disappointment to many in terms of policy. But it was a good bellwether for changing habits relating to energy and the environment, which will matter a lot during the next few years. Concern about the environment and a shift away from oil has already started to reshape the corporate landscape. That's why Exxon Mobil spent $31 billion this year to buy natural-gas giant XTO. Businesses will soon start paying a price to emit greenhouse gases, making natural gas more attractive. And there are already signs of more dramatic change on the ground. For example, Coulomb Technologies is installing 4,000 recharging stations for electric cars in the Southwest. There's real evidence that an alternative-energy grid will emerge on a mass scale during the next few years.

9. GM and Chrysler Bankruptcies. The saga of GM and Chrysler mattered in several ways. The bailouts and bankruptcies ended up saving tens of thousands of jobs, not to mention U.S. pride and morale—which count for a lot in the real economy, confidence being a precursor to economic life. The Obama administration also defied skeptics who expected the government to get trapped in a long commitment with no clear exit strategy, vindicating the idea of a greater public role in the markets. It was more D-Day than Vietnam, so expect more public expeditions into the private markets. Now that GM has ousted CEO Fritz Henderson, expect brisk changes under chairman Ed Whitacre.

10. The Rise of the E-Reader. As traditional media suffered in operatic fashion, digital media continued its ascent with the e-readers such as the Kindle from Amazon and the Skiff from Hearst, just to name a few. As these devices battle for market share, they are likely to establish new platforms and ecosystems on the scale of the iPhone or the Windows operating system, changing the way people read and altering business models on every rung of the media ladder.