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.

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…

The results of the government’s bank stress tests were released yesterday (Thursday), and the U.S. Federal Reserve has directed 10 banks to raise an aggregate $70 billion-plus in capital.

Following my report on the viability of the Top 12 U.S. banks, a number of readers have suggested that I missed Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB).

If you think the U.S. economy is descending into a bottomless pit, hold off. But if you’re reasonably optimistic long-term, these banks are well worth considering for income-oriented investors.

After receiving hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded federal bailout money, the biggest U.S. banks say they can’t track how that money is being spent. Some of the banks are outright refusing to discuss the matter, a new study has found.

Bank of American Corp. (BAC), which is getting $15 billion from the U.S. government as part of the Treasury Department’s $250 billion “recapitalization” effort, is doubling its stake in state-owned China Construction Bank Corp., and will hold a 20% stake worth $24 billion in China’s second-largest lender when that deal is finalized.

Come Wednesday morning – after the presidential election tomorrow (Tuesday) – the United States will have a new commander-in-chief. The president-elect will face some significant challenges: A weak economy (okay, a recession, given last week’s gross domestic product (GDP) report, which confirmed just how dire the country’s economic situation had become).

The Treasury’s plan to inject $250 billion in capital directly into US banks is underway. But William Patalon III says some of these taxpayer funds will be used by big banks to acquire junior competitors. This means the increase in lending that the plan is supposed to spark will be modest at best. And less competition in the banking sector could mean a rise in fees going forward.

Just like Thursday, neither gold nor silver did much on Friday until the Comex opened. Both metals got hit hard on the jobs report, but that only lasted a few minutes before a rally began. Then the usual not-for-profit seller showed up shortly after the London p.m. fix…and that was all she wrote for the rest of the trading session.