By the StockHouse Editorial Team

The troubled U.S. subprime lending sector gave investors pause this week, making markets volatile amid worries that a slowing housing market could spread to other sectors of the economy.

Oil prices languished, but Micro-cap Monday columnist Danny Deadlock identified a small oil and gas exploration company (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19436 ) with a low cash-flow multiple that is expected to boost production in 2007.

Resourcex Reports profiled a gold and silver
company that expects to begin production at its Dynasty Gold Project in Ecuador (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19437 ) later this year, or soon after.

The IPO market was soft after last week’s broken Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) offering (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19438 ), said Jon Ogg. However, the IPO Digest columnist also noted that the market enthusiasm for BigBand Networks’ (NASDAQ: BBND) IPO could be a predictor of better stability (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19455 ) for new listings.

This week’s StockHouse Top Five (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19442 ) featured BullBoards poster franknstein for the second consecutive week, as the uranium junkie continued to flood the Boards with opinion about his favourite metal.

An update from the writers at Institutional Research Partners focused on recent good news developments at a financial content provider (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19443 ).

If market ups and downs from the past two weeks stoked worries about the equities market, there’s always art investing. The Weekly Wizard, Anders Petterson, explained how even novices can invest part of their portfolio in Old Masters and Emerging Artists (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19445 ).

And metals investing is likely going to continue to be hot. Steven Saville looked at historical trends, and wrote that gold (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19447 ) is likely to carry less risk going forward than silver investments.

The Securities Sleuth, Mark McNair, trained his sights on one of the most battered subprime lenders (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19449 ).

A news study showed that there may be risks to being too thin, said Leon Hamerling and J. Paul in the Bio Check (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19450 ). But that’s not likely to mean that drug companies will re-channel efforts to create weight loss medications.

Pure Metals columnist Luke Burgess went to Mexico to see Pediment Resources’ (TSX: V.PEZ) mining prospects (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19453 ) firsthand. Like all travelers, he brought back photos and maps and word of the people he met along the way.

The past two weeks showed investors that ETFs that mirror major indices can change as rapidly and unexpectedly as individual equities. Columnist Don Vialoux introduced a tool (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19454 ) for investors to determine entry and exit points for their ETFs.

With tax time fast approaching for U.S. workers, Nancy Zambell wrote her weekly Financially Fit column about the many advantages of IRAs. (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19459 )

And, John J. De Goey proposed a shift in the client-advisor strategy that could bring another full percentage of earnings to investors in STANDUP Advice. (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19458 )