During the past few years of the "boom" cycle in real estate, many investors looked around and thought, "Boy, I wish I had the money to invest in some property." But most folks just don't have a few extra hundred thousand dollars lying around. And now that the market has slowed, the risks of investing in individual real estate properties have increased, making it somewhat treacherous for the average investor to jump in.   However, both of those reasons - high investment dollars required, as well as the associated risks - have played an important part in the rapid expansion of the real estate investment trust (REIT) industry.

Should investors throw in their lot with Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) or Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)? Plus, H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) and others are getting caught with their loans down.

The outlook is bright for Honda and Toyota. But an even better investment proposition may be the businesses who supply the parts to them. Plus, real estate is suffering under the weight of its own hysteria. Will its downturn take the market even lower?

Has the bloom worn off the housing industry? And now that the market has erased gains for 2006, where should investors put their cash?

Merger and acquisition activity is really picking up. Learn why this is happening and which sectors look particularly ripe for plucking. Finally, an update on HouseValues (Nasdaq: SOLD).

A review of topics that we believe will be of importance for investors in 2006, including the slowing housing market, the continued strength of commodities, especially oil and gold, a renewed interest in micro cap stocks, and lastly an IPO market that looks to be solid once again. Our stock pick this week is Endeavor International (AMEX: END), an oil and gas exploration and production company that looks to parlay its drilling rights in the North Sea into profits.

  An overview the of permission based email sector and check in on the fast crumbling real estate market.

This week's investment idea is Dawson Geophysical (Nasdaq: DWSN), the leading provider of seismic data for oil and gas exploration and production companies. We also examine recent data that suggests that the housing market has slowed down substantially, and find out why Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is the early winner in holiday retail.

Steve Case steps down from Time Warner's board; find out what he has planned next. Learn more about "Top Ten Stocks for 2006 from America's Leading Investment Experts," a new complimentary special report from NewsletterAdvisors.com. And finally, this week's investment idea is HouseValues, a company that is positioned to capitalize on the trend of increased online real estate advertising.