A 50 basis point drop in interest rates by the Bank of Canada to 1 per cent did not buoy confidence in the equity markets during Tuesday trading as investors bailed out in a big way. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange plunged 3.81%, while the TSX Gold Index popped another 3.35% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, fell 1.86% with the declining issuers swamping the advancers by a 423 to 263 margin on 107 million shares traded.

The Canadian Markets started the first full trading week of 2009 in a festive mode with buyers continuing to step up to the plate during Monday’s session. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange added 0.56%, while the TSX Gold Index got hammered to the tune of 7.3% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, tacked on 3.28% with the advancing issuers beating out the decliners by a 515 to 264 margin on volume of 159 million shares traded.

After an ever so brief reprieve the bears returned and once again started mauling the bulls during Wednesday’s trading session on the Canadian markets. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange plunged 5.32%, while the TSX Gold Index tanked 8.5% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, lost 5.71% with the declining issuers outpacing the advancers by a 607 to 224 margin, on volume of 141 million shares traded.

US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman says the America’s  “nuclear renaissance” could be derailed by the credit crisis.

But Smart Commodities UK editor Garry White says a number of nuclear power projects are already underway in other parts of the world. India plans to build between 18 to 20 new nuclear plants over the next 15 years. Even the Middle East is shifting to the atom for its future energy needs.

Nuclear plants are also proven to be effective at water desalination. This will be vital in emerging markets, where populations are rising rapidly.

The market is throwing away resource stocks amid panic on Wall Street.”You’d think the world will never again need gold, silver, platinum, oil, natural gas, uranium, copper, lead or zinc,” says Russell McDougal at Investor’s Daily Edge.

The old adage “the time to buy is when blood is running in the streets” remains true, however.

Russell says the stock shakeout provides a great opportunity for savvy investors. He recommends buying up quality resource stocks now and holding them for long-term profits.

The Daily Reckoning’s Dan Denning says Australia needs to get serious about the energy debate. Australia is rich in resources, but too much bureaucratic red tape is beginning to scare away foreign investors. Nevertheless, Aussie resource firms provide many excellent investment opportunities, some of which are not on the radar of institutional analysts…

Dan Denning at The Daily Reckoning Australia says the country’s world-class mineral deposits lured him away from the U.S. in 2005. New mining ventures in ’super’ deposits such as Mount Isa in Queensland may be volatile, but as older mines near the end of their productive life, they will control all the resources.

The Canadian markets showed signs of life for a second straight session as gold and oil plays once again caught the fancy of investors during Thursday trading.

The spot price of uranium has likely seen its low at a recent $57 and uranium stocks are cheap and unloved.

This sets up a great contrarian investment play, says Russell McDougal in Investor’s Daily Edge.

Russell says uranium stocks are oversold. But there are extraordinarily strong global fundamentals behind the uranium market.

If you are looking to take positions in tomorrow’s bull market… uranium stocks more than qualify.

It was another rough morning for those long the resource-rich Canadian Markets as talk of rising interest rates and a stronger United States dollar prompted more selling, but a late afternoon buying binge pushed the bigger board back into the black by the close of Tuesday trading.