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It was another week, and another spate of merger activities. This week it was Alcoa (NYSE: AA) bidding for Canadian rival Alcan (TSX: T.AL). StockHouse reporter Sean Mason checked out the buzz (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19690 ) on Alcan’s BullBoards to see whether forum participants really thought it was a grand idea.

The weekly StockHouse Top Five (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19698 ) listed top posters, top boards and the most-read features for the week.

Danny Deadlock joined the uranium rush  (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19684 ) this week, and detailed the prospects for a junior with properties in Colorado, Utah and Mongolia for readers of the Micro-cap Monday column.

Columnist Katherine Young of Resource Report was also focused on Mongolia (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19685 ), and detailed how changes from that country’s mining ministry could affect Canadian juniors with mineral interests there.

New Trading Discipline columnist Don Rodgers advised that situational awareness (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19686 ) is the key to successful day trading, and used an actual trade to illustrate his points.

As the U.S. becomes more reliant upon oil from African sources (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19689 ), the political and economic upheavals on the continent will have greater bearing on the price at U.S. pumps, said the Casey Report.   

Steven Saville noted that the international currency markets, notably the weak greenback and the weaker yen, have had a great and positive influence on U.S. equities (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19697).

From the BIO International Convention in Boston, the Bio Check reported that access to funding (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19699 ) was the clearest indicator of regional trends in the science and business of biotech.

Two writers looked at Exchange Traded Funds this week. This week’s Wizard, Mike Paulenoff, noted that the StreetTracks Gold Shares ETF (NYSE: GLD) has outperformed (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19693 ) the overall commodities complex. And Don Vialoux advised investors holding an ETF for the UK Equity Market (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19707 ) to take profits on strength going into the period of seasonal weakness.

While some Board decisions fail to meet the stink test with shareholders, the ire over unpopular decisions (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19700 ) fades with time, said Mark McNair. The Securities Sleuth reported that improper backdating of options continues to be a primary concern for investors.

Using the High Relative Strength indicator, George Leong identified eight stocks (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19706 ) that could be ready for a break out, in his Technical Thursday column.

Investors should identify a strategy to include mid-cap stocks (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19712 ) in their portfolios, said Financially Fit columnist Nancy Zambell, because returns in the category outpaced returns from small-cap and large-cap stocks, with a lower risk profile.

Reporter Sean Mason, meanwhile, looks at the discussion surrounding a junior explorer that has an interest in what it calls a potential “world-class” petroleum discovery on Buzz on the BullBoards. http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19713 

And, mutual fund costs should be considered a moral issue (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19711 ), argued John J. De Goey in his STANDUP Advice column.