Haunted by the legacy of stars who played hard and retired broke, today's smart players think portfolios before Porsches

the past year, the economist-turned-lawyer-turned-actor/comedian/financial columnist has been critical of just about everyone. He's come down hard on educators for denying creationism, on hedge funds for the credit mess, and on American baby boomers for not saving enough for retirement.

After riding the greatest commodities boom in half a century, suddenly, playing the mining sector is not so simple. Many of the related equities have run out of steam amid fears of dwindling metals demand in a global economic downturn. These days, it takes a true rock star to get the job done.

Looking for something solid, with out-of-this-world growth? Check out these stalks in the woods of Brazil

Anthony Scilipoti was investigating accounting shenanigans at Nortel and Royal Group long before the RCMP went poking around.

Investors might remember the 1990s as the years of the dot-com boom, which led to outrageous gains in the stock market. But they were also the years when productivity in the United States, and in much of the developed world, went through a dramatic shift that got many observers wondering if the economy had entered a productivity revolution.

Promising tech firms used to need $10 million to get going. Today they need $100,000, at most. How's a venture capital fund supposed to pick its winners, and keep track of them all?

Do-it-yourself investing was supposed to be the norm by now, but Canadians are holding back. What's the problem?

Whoever dreamed up the chestnut about investing in land because "they're not making more of it" never met a condo developer.

Money may not grow on trees, but it's thriving just fine in grain fields

By ranking companies on market cap rather than profits, the big indexes promise more than they deliver

Buying a house fit for David Suzuki will cost more, but when it comes to cooling, heating or reselling it, that cash could come back