I t was almost biblical the way the stock markets kept giving to investors and then taking away in the past decade. The taking away part seems to have fried some nerves out there. After two epic boom-bust cycles in the past 10 years, Canadians are keeping historically high amounts of cash in safety-first investments like money market funds, savings accounts and short-term GICs.

U .S. copper HG-FT finished at 16-month highs Monday, pushed up by lower inventories of the metal on the Shanghai futures exchange and a weaker U.S. dollar amid light, holiday-crimped trading.

In today’s current economic environment, individuals and families are desperately looking for ways to diversify their investments and increase their returns, or at the very least keep what funds they do have from losing any further value. Diversification is always touted as a means of protecting investments, but choosing the right ones is obviously important. If you’re a fan of one of the world’s most precious metals, then you likely have it in one of two places – on your finger, or in your portfolio

US Real Estate Legislation has been considerably loose and quite open to foreign investors. The US government has not much of the bureaucratic red tape you would normally experience when purchasing properties in other countries. Foreign investment in US real estate is actually encouraged since it plays a significant role in the US economy.

U .S. retailers have thin inventories after coming out of Christmas with slightly better-than-expected sales. Some retailers kept inventory so low they’ve had to bring in new merchandise to restock shelves, a rare move this soon after Christmas.

W hat are we looking for? As 2009 comes to a close, we’re taking a look back at the decade that was and trying to find some of the winners and losers that crossed the tape in that time. Today, we’re going to churn through some of the data on corporate profit.

M inera Penmont Inc. has sweetened its bid for Canplats Resources Corp., CPQ-X topping an offer from rival Goldcorp.