Over the weekend I had a couple posts (here and here) on my blog that were intended to be theoretical explorations about when, if ever, an investor should ease up on the portfolio gas pedal if they have enough money at some point before retirement.

After hitting an eight-month high just last week, copper has been on a downward slide, and not even crazy housing numbers can stop it. So what's behind the current price drops, and will the trend be long lasting?

Copper traders were buoyed by the relatively good news coming out about Lowe's Cos., Inc. (NYSE: LOW), taking the active July COMEX contract above $2.04 a pound Monday morning. A better-than-expected quarterly profit, together with a raise in earnings forecasts from the nation's second-largest home improvement chain gave fresh hope that the economic slump was easing and spending was stabilizing.

Former Fed Chief Alan Greenspan has stridently argued that his decision to lower the Fed Funds Rate (FFR) from 6.5% to 1.0% during 2001-2003 was NOT the cause of the housing bubble. Does his argument have any validity?