These three banks have a long history of providing market-beating yields and positive returns on investment. 

The rally in financials is likely the start of something big, and both investors and traders need to be prepared to flip bullish on banks during 2012.

With weak earnings from the banks and minimal economic data to embrace, I took a bearish position yesterday.

Earnings season hits full stride this week, and it could be a very critical week for the bulls.

The market recorded another gain yesterday as the indices continued to consolidate after the big open to start the week.

In order to solve the mess that is the European financial system, a country will inevitably have to leave the Euro zone.

The increase in volume was excellent to see yesterday, and that increase in volume added further conviction to the bullish move higher past 1280 resistance.

I argue in favor of a bullish advance past 1301 resistance and this week could very well be the start of that move. 

This week's data may not indicate too much about the U.S. economic recovery, but it was good enough to support bank stocks...

If you're looking for yet another reason to own physical gold, look no further than the unbelievable situation that continues to unravel with the MF Global debacle.

While I believe we are headed higher over the next three weeks, the bears have a funny way of changing the tide of the market without any detection.

Regional banks simply make sense. They are not too big to fail. And that's a good thing.

The market hardly budged yesterday and volume was below average, yet I still remain bullish.

Bank stocks, and the other indices for that matter, will have to overcome some heavy bearish news today.

But like curing a hangover with "the hair of the dog" this central bank gift will do more harm than good in the long run.

While investors should be wary of the bank sector as a whole, there is one bank that I believe will rise above the rest.

It's hardly surprising that the banks blasted higher yesterday - the intervention by central banks was directly aimed at helping out big banks.

It just seems strange that central bankers would be hell-bent for leather to continually devalue their currencies.

If two of these three trends don't take place, neither will a market rally.
 

During strong trends, leadership stocks, sectors and indices are often defined by large rises on above average volume and miniscule declines on low volume - while the opposite is usually true during bear trends.

Financials have clearly driven this rally. And it makes sense - this rally is being built on a bailout designed to help banks.

Technology stocks roared higher yesterday, including our two tech stocks, STAAR (Nasdaq: STAA) and Atmel (Nasdaq: ATML).

Investors had expected the worst from the banks, which is why the financial index was down 30% since May. The market will not be able to break 1250 resistance and rally higher without the bank stocks.

Every bank stock was higher, and most rose twice as much as the average stock from other sectors.

The latest rally in the market was initiated with optimism that Europe would come up with a plan, quickly, that increases investor confidence, avoids default and recapitalizes banks.

Big bank stocks were hit hard. The decline followed a bland earnings report from big banking leader, JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM), which promptly resulted in similar declines to big bank competitors: Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).

While I don't view Greece as an issue, a slowdown in Europe would be a big deal.

Over the past three years no company has been more hated than Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). If Ben Bernanke is considered the "White Knight" in the tale of the Great Recession, then Goldman...

One thing that seems to be missing is the timetable for Greek default. It would be good to know exactly when the Euro-banks have to book the losses.

It used to be that money in the bank would pay an annual interest rate of three to five percent. However, that's not the case today (and hasn't been for some time now).

The risk for Europe is not doing enough. If you give Greece debt forgiveness of 30%, but Greece still can't make its payments, then you haven't really accomplished anything.

Apparently Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) may both shed their "bank holding company" status to avoid Volcker rule restrictions and get back to the good ol' profitable trading game.

Earnings season got underway with an underwhelming start by Alcoa (NYSE:AA). The company beat on revenues, but missed pretty badly on EPS due to rising costs and weaker prices for aluminum.

Economists have been extremely inconsistent with their economic projections over the past few months, as their views and outlooks seem to be swayed by their emotional response to the economy and stock market.

Today, I would like the bulls to retest 1175 resistance and stay above 1131 support. Obviously, staying above 1155 and rallying past 1175 would be better, but SPX has recovered 6.4% from its low; buyers should be happy with that turn.

How many times have stocks been down +1% at 3 pm only to rally and finish in the green?

The market pulled back Wednesday, a move we expected following Tuesday’s price action. The big tip off that a pullback was near came from the underperformance in bank stocks on Tuesday.

The banks led the indices higher on Monday following bailout rumors in Europe. In fact, most bank stocks were up over 3% on the session. But those same bank stocks, like MS BAC, C, and JPM could not hold those gains on Tuesday despite a huge rally in the other indices. 

There's a rumor making the rounds that EU will forgive 50% of Greek debt and increase the ESFS bailout fund to 2 trillion euros.

It's hard not to miss the tone of Germany's leader, Angela Merkel, who, over the weekend, said Europe must be able to put a "firewall" around Greece to prevent a cascade of market attacks.

Forgive me if I am forced to delve into Europe and its debt again today.

Before I begin my usual market commentary, I'd like to remind you of a very special offer from my friend and colleague, Andy Crowder.

This Saturday, Andy will reveal information about a new options trade for free! If you're interested, I urge you to click here and sign up to the pre-event list today. There's a limited number of spots available, and I know they'll fill up quickly.

The market popped again yesterday. The gains were larger on Monday, but it was still a strong showing by the bulls to rally the U.S. indices for a second straight day.

Myth: "It's impossible to collect income from small cap stocks." This myth is completely untrue.

The bigger issue for Europe is Italy and Spain. These two are much bigger than Greece.

The market tanked on Friday and it appears ready to tank again on Monday. Volume was high as SPX shrank nearly 3% and the bulls lost 1175 support. The declines were everywhere, but financials once again fell the most.

Financials are down 18% in the last three months and 25% in the last six. Big banks have taken the brunt of selling this year and for good reason. Economic conditions have weakened and European nations could still leave the euro zone or declare bankruptcy.