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In the third instalment of our revamped online video, we look at the closed-life fund sector and debate bank charges. Plus the usual markets and stock-picking contributions from our experts

Another bad omen was the trading statement from George Wimpey, coupled with an almost mirror-image one from Taylor Woodrow, the company with which it is shortly to merge. Both these companies are exposed to overseas markets that are in trouble, primarily the US and Spain. Predictably, there was plenty of bad news from both quarters: both volumes and prices are well down on last year in the US, with obvious implications for profit. And in mainland Spain, British buyers have headed for the exits in the face of gross oversupply of tatty, poorly built apartments. But both companies were also cautious on the UK, suggesting that the second half will be tougher and that recent interest rate rises will soon begin to bite. The entire sector has seen a severe de-rating over the past three months - suggesting that the stock market is already pricing in a sharp slowdown in house prices. But shares in both Taylor and Wimpey now look so cheap that the merged entity could be considered the stock market equivalent of a renovation project; good value for the long term.

Alternative energy started to come of age this week. BP, the oil giant famed for going 'beyond petroleum' struck two landmark deals this week. The first was with Associated British Foods and chemical giant Du Pont, to build a bioethanol plant at BP's existing chemical works in Hull. AB Foods will supply wheat feedstock and take by-products coming the other way for conversion into animal feed. BP will produce bioethanol and Du Pont will produce bio-butanol. In a separate deal, BP signed up to a joint venture with biofuels minnow D1 Oils to produce biodiesel from jatropha oil. Jatropha is an oilseed tree which grows fast, yields a lot and whose oils are inedible - perfect feedstock for biofuels. Although the £31.8m capital commitment BP is making to this venture is peanuts for such a vast company, it effectively safeguards D1's future. Other biofuels companies have been caught in a vicious margin squeeze, with input costs under pressure from soaring vegetable oil prices, while selling prices remain relatively stable. Last week, China Biodiesel had a profit warning and this week Biofuels surrendered to its bankers. D1 looks the best placed, and its shares rank good value.

Are the wheels about to come off the decade-long housing boom? Two events this week suggest that the axles are at the very least starting to rattle a bit. One was a profit warning from Northern Rock, hitherto one of the UK's most relentlessly efficient mortgage lenders. The Newcastle-based group said that its margins are being squeezed because it borrows money at rates based on interbank rates, but lends it out to homeowners at rates based on the Bank of England's base rates. Three-month interbank rates are rising, because the markets expect that interest rates will further in the coming months. But Northern Rock is having trouble shifting homeowners onto higher rate products, so its profit growth this year will be shy of analysts' forecasts. Still, this should be a relatively short-term problem, and the bank is at least keeping market share. So we consider the sell-off overdone, and continue to rate Rock's shares a buy.

We are launching a new website this week, more details of which appear below. Because we are switching from a weekly to a daily publication system, from today we will no longer be sending out a weekly stories email. Instead, your details have been added to the distribution list for our Daily Views email, which goes out at 3pm every week day. If you do not wish to receive this, please log in to the website, go to MY ACCOUNT and unsubscribe.

We're also running our usual monthly update on our core value screen – based on the writings of a Chicago based economist Joseph Piotroski – plus a quick report back on our Foolish Small cap portfolio. See the feature articles below for more details.

The author of the Zulu Principle is rightly regarded as one of the UK's greatest living investors – and certainly its most popular. He's been actively investing in fast growing smaller companies for decades now and his principles about finding good stocks – decent price, good growth potential – are still hugely relevant today.

In this week's update we're returning to one of the most successful screens over the last few years – it’s our own version of a screen that identifies shares using the investment ideas of Jim Slater.

Welcome to this week's stock screening email.

The US index faces seasonal risks at it heads higher still