U.S. equities were in for another up-and-down week as mixed economic reports weighed heavily on the markets. U.S. residential construction slid 16% in January, while building permits declined 5.4%. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve index of manufacturing activity was negative for the first time in nine months; the Fed cited severe winter weather as the primary reason behind the weakness. The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index for January rose 0.3%, below expectations of a 0.4% rise. Lastly, jobless claims fell in line with forecasts [see The Fed Effect: How Monetary Policy Impacts Your ETFs]. Below, we highlight seven insightful articles circulating around the financial space this week: A biotech bubble? Maybe not (Cam Hui) The case for silver (Market Anthropology) Investors losing interest in REITs and MLPs (Quartz) Emerging markets: why Wall Street is split (Mohamed A. El-Erian) Charts explain why companies are spending billions on messaging apps (Business Insider) The one investment allocation everyone [...] Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com. Related Posts: ETF Winners & Losers from the Ben Bernanke Era The Best Performing ETFs of 2013 Healthcare ETFs: 4 Things To Consider How To Invest In 2013′s Breakthrough Technologies ETF Insider: Best & Worst Weekly Performers October 12th Edition