It was easy, at first glance, to say good riddance to 2012. After all, in addition to the never-ending countdown to Dec. 31, we had an acrimonious election holding our attention and the prairie dog situation in Europe, where one country after another would pop up with news of an imminent economic crisis.

So it's understandable that, distracted by all this negativity, most of us managed to miss the fact that hidden in plain view, there was quite a bit of good news taking place.

In fact, we are starting 2013 on a bit of a high note, particularly since the positive developments of last year seem a lot more likely to shape our financial future than the stuff that gave us heartburn, like the battle over the "fiscal cliff."

Most people know they can hurt their personal credit by doing certain things, such as paying bills late. But businesses, too, can blunder when it comes to either protecting or building the credit needed to operate and grow a company.

Here are four mistakes your business clients should avoid in managing business credit. By pointing out these potential blunders, you can move closer towards an advisory role with your business clients.

It wasn't spousal abuse. It wasn't animal abuse, it wasn't murder. It certainly wasn't child abuse or a subsequent child abuse cover up. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, they all sound familiar and are all too common when it comes to American celebrities, and in particular, professional athletes.

It was a lie, and for that, Lance Armstrong must pay and pay dearly he will. His titles, his awards, his medals and his legacy, are at best damaged, but in reality, mostly gone. Not even the secular confessional of Oprah can bring them back. Lance is done.

That's Lance the athlete, but what about Lance the humanitarian and philanthropist? The cancer survivor and founder of Livestrong?

(Read More: Armstrong's Confession May Not Be Enough)

Were the United States any other country, its bonds would have long ago been downgraded to junk.

The national debt is careening out of control, and the underlying economy appears unable to support the taxes necessary to stabilize the amount owed. The political class has sunk into tragic dysfunction, incapable of civil discourse or creative thinking to address these problems.

In 2007, the last full year before the financial crisis, the federal deficit was only $161 billion but since, spending on health care, social security and other entitlements have exploded—the annual budget gap has exceeded $1 trillion for five years.

(Read More: Fitch Warns of US Downgrade Over Debt Fight)

As Apple slides towards $500 dollar a share, Apple investors are confused. "How can my beloved Apple not rise EVERY month!", some wonder. Well, it may be perplexing for some, but this has happened before.

Apple, like all stocks, is a longer term proposition from our perspective.

But that's not really the point of this article. The point is about one's perspective about stock ownership and misguided affection for one's investments.

First a disclosure that may seem a bit confusing given the headline of this article; we own Apple for our clients and believe that it is a stock with appreciation potential. We base our views on expanding emerging market presence as well as a product cycle that likely will lead to massive upgrades in computer and tablet devices.

But given our perspective on this company, we do our best to avoid falling in love with this or any stock.

Read More: Apple Cuts Orders for iPhone 5 Parts: Reports

Aggressive monetary and fiscal policies have forced so much money into the economy; it has become impossible to determine how much of our modest economic growth is organic and how much may be the result of the trillions of dollars of government injections.

During periods of inflation, stock prices appear cheap because investors become less willing to pay great premiums for earnings. The idea is that if earnings are increasing because the company is selling more goods and services and generating greater profits, investors will pay more.

But, if the bottom line is increasing just because inventories can be priced higher (due to inflation) and no real gains have occurred, investors will pay less. This is why price-to-earnings multiples are lower during periods of higher inflation. In other words, investors of all stripes require some degree of confidence with regard to the outlook for future levels of inflation. (Read More: Mad Dash for Inflation-Linked Bonds.)

The final quarter of 2012 saw a welcome improvement to the HSBC Emerging Markets Index as it recorded an incremental acceleration in economic growth.

Climbing to 52.9 from 52.2 in the third quarter, while hardly a sign of buoyant economic growth, this slight upward movement signals an encouraging shift away from the downwards trends which characterized last year.

Improvement for the quarter was driven by a turn-around in manufacturing conditions as activity picked up following a modest contraction in the third.

Pointing to an encouraging start for 2013 new order levels also picked up, growing at their second-fastest rate since the second quarter of 2011.

A record crowd of healthcare investors and companies gather this week in San Francisco for the Annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference.

The largest of its kind, it is dubbed the "Woodstock" of Healthcare, and its timing at the start of the new year sets the tone for the sector's outlook. The key themes this year will no doubt be new products, regulation (including the implementation of Obamacare), global expansion, productivity, pricing and utilization.

Friday, the Commerce Department is expected to report the annual deficit on international trade in goods and services remained about $500 billion a year. Along with higher taxes and other anti growth policies, this deficit slows recovery and threatens to thrust the economy into a second recession and push unemployment to truly painful levels.

Consumer spending continues to expand, though haltingly,and the annual federal deficit has increased from $161 billion before the financial crisis to more than $1 trillion, injecting enormous additional demand nto the system. However, too many of those dollars go abroad for Middle East toil and Chinese goods that do not return to buy U.S. exports, and higher oil prices will up the trade gap in 2013

Businesses, consequently, are pessimistic about future demand for U.S.-made goods and services, and bearing higher corporate and other business taxes than foreign competitors, rising employee benefit costs mandated by Obamacare and more cumbersome business regulations are reluctant to hire in the United States. (Read more: Morgan Stanley Plans Layoffs)

For the GOP to win elections, it must offer voters what they want, and pathways to a more prosperous and livable America.

The country is more than just more multiracial, it has shifted fundamentally in its practice of tolerance.