In my column last week, I showed you how to use straddle options to take advantage of market/stock volatility when the direction is uncertain. This week, we hop over the fence to the straddle’s sister strategy – the strangle options play.

What do you do with your portfolio positions when the stock market moves strongly in one direction?

Did you miss out on buying Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) at $80 or $90? How about The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) for $25? While investors worry about missing out on stock market rallies, there’s another equally important event: Buying on stock market dips.

Gold prices are set to drop by 30% in the coming months. I know… this flies in the face of conventional thinking. And maybe you think I’m crazy for even suggesting it.

Didn’t a “stress test” used to be something you saw your doctor about when life became overwhelming? Today, this buzz-phrase is more often used as a measure of American banks’ financial strength (or lack thereof).  On the surface, you might think it’s good news that several banks fared quite well and “passed” the government’s recent stress test. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find that the banks being tested actually helped set the rules.  This could be a dangerous situation for those simply following the crowd into buying banks stocks, but unaware of the real story…

“Cash is king,” as the old investment adage goes. Question is: How do you go about getting it – especially in a tough climate like this one? After all, cash is only king if you have it.

While the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) couldn’t possibly compete with the G20 summit in terms of headline-grabbing power, the organization did join with the world’s top leaders in breaking some good news that fueled the stock market’s fire.

The stock market is a volatile, unforgiving beast. Now more than ever. The current rally aside, it’s eating many investors’ portfolios alive – and may well do so again in the near future. The question is, though… has this hurt you or actually helped you? 

Last weekend, Global Finance published its list of the World’s 50 Safest Banks – a list that the publication has run for 17 years.

Karim Rahemtulla of the Smart Profits Report is on a mission. He is here to rescue you out of the darkness, doom and gloom and into the light on investing in the “brutal bear” market.