Six golden rules for profitable investing

It looks like a bit of a correction has begun in the markets. Yesterday the FTSE 100 got clobbered again, plunging 109 points to 5,867. This followed a 1.3% drop on Tuesday. It seems investors have suddenly got the jitters that Chinese 'overheating' may be a bigger problem than expected, as John Stepek noted yesterday. Yet just three days ago, everything felt so bullish. Britain's blue chip index hit its highest point since June 2008 in a welter of upbeat sentiment. It all goes to show just how tough it can be to make money in the markets. And with the backdrop so uncertain, 2011 isn't going to get any easier for investors. But there are some golden rules to follow that will keep your portfolio in good shape – regardless of what happens next.