Clean energy ETFs became hugely popular in 2007. But they’ve been taking a beating since this August, when crude oil prices began to fall from their year highs.

Nevertheless, Jim Stanton says alternative energy — and the wind-energy market in particular — has a big future. Wind energy is already the second largest source of new power generation in the US, and it now has the backing of the much-hyped Pickens Plan.

Jim says two clean-energy ETFs that look undervalued right now are PBW and GEX. He also recommends FAN for a more wind-specific ETF. 

At a conservative estimate, the government has so far this year stumped just under $300 billion worth of taxpayers’ money in mopping the problems triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis.

In July, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) said the cost of insuring the deposits of failed bank IndyMac would be $8.9 billion. The bailout of Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) put taxpayers on the hook for at least $200 billion.

The AIG (NYSE:AIG) rescue adds another $85 billion to that figure.

Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) has a lot to answer for… No sooner had I wrapped up this edition of “Sector Watch” than the company declared bankruptcy, thus forcing me into a swift re-write! So much for my plan to go fishing yesterday…

The dominoes are falling, says Adam Lass in Taipan Daily.

The housing market is still a shambles, nine U.S. banks have failed so far this year, and Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) are all but nationalized. What’s more, the world’s central bankers can’t agree on what caused this mess, let along how to fix it.

But amid the gloom and doom, Adam says put options on MetLife (NYSE:MET), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Capital One (NYSE:COF) can still yield triple-digit gains…

As recently as a month ago, Erin Callan was on top of the world. The WSJ did a glowing piece on her rise through the ranks. Condé Nast’s Portfolio magazine dubbed her the most powerful woman on Wall Street.

Another day, another round of bad news from the brokers and the banks.

It’s important to be able to “step back” once in a while — in life, in work, and in markets, too. For those who would be rich, patience and wisdom count for far more than being clever.

Ah, Friday. The best day of the week. Here are some quick odds and ends for you headed into the weekend — followed by an interesting research piece you won’t want to miss.

Although the earnings season officially kicked off last week with Alcoa reporting first quarter earnings, the real fun starts this week with seven Dow components reporting.