There’s something about having servants – even if they seem to love their jobs – that is vaguely disturbing. It offends many Americans’ sense of egalitarianism. But robots are different. They aren’t human. And that’s a big part of their potential appeal. They don’t eat, they don’t get offended and they don’t ask for pay raises. So if a robot could do what a human servant could do, wouldn’t you want a robot?

Diversification proved largely futile in 2008, as assets across the board came crashing down. But the right combination of hedges and ’safe havens’ can still return big profits, says Eric Roseman. He gives three investments that every portfolio should include in 2009.

The investors that have been wiped out in this downturn are the ones that did not plan ahead, says Steve McDonald. Booms and busts are the nature of economic cycles. And investing only in stocks is financial suicide. Steve says to survive this crisis – and the inevitable ones that follow – investors need to diversify their portfolios and stick to tried and trusted models.