Well, summer trading is now over. Labor Day is past (I hope you enjoyed the holiday) vacations are done, and we should be getting back to full participation in the stock market. August, especially, is usually a very light volume month. But the one that just ended was an exception, as the near default, and S&P downgrade were met with extreme volume, and point declines.

So what do we have to look forward to, now that Fall trading is here?

I’m finding it difficult to express my anger and frustration at our dysfunctional Congress. Their inability to get some kind of budget passed is appalling. And it’s costing us a good rally for stocks. The Dow Industrials would probably be 1,000 points higher if these children would simply do their job.

If they worked for me, they’d have been fired long ago…

It was an interesting day for earnings. IBM (NYSE:IBM), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) came in great. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), well, not so much.

Actually, Bank of America would have been pretty good, were it not for the $9+ billion the bank set aside for mortgage settlements.

It’s really necessary to pick and choose bank stocks. Some, like JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo are doing well adjusting to new rules and dealing with mortgage issues.

The market pulled back hard yesterday. The selling was intense and financials led the indices lower after problems in Europe surfaced in the morning. Despite the 2% decline, all indices held their must hold support levels: SPX 1301, Nasdaq 2700 and Russell 800.

 The troubles in Europe resulted in a positive move for the dollar, which in turn resulted in a decline to industrial commodities. That downward selling pressure then bled into the other indices. The decline in the euro stemmed from insufficient stress testing in Europe, which increased the perception of contagion by the weak banks. Despite the fundamental concern surrounding the euro I have a long position in the unloved currency.

I took the long position on Friday, but held it through the pathetic emotional sell-off yesterday. I am looking for $1.44.

Just one day after shutting down Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC) dividend increase request, the Federal Reserve denied a similar request by Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) to increase its dividend.

Its disappointing news for the shareholders of America’s largest banking institutions, especially after the tumultuous past few years in banking stocks.

But what most investors might not realize is that one small Manhattan bank is currently issuing one of the largest dividends in banking history. It’s able to do so because it never came close to insolvency during the height of the 2008-2009 banking crisis.

It’s maintained a significant capital cushion, never uses leverage and has a stream of wealthy borrowers that underline its banking business.

Ian Wyatt of Wyatt Investment Research recently uncovered the details of this little-known bank, and you can read his full write up by clicking here now.

The market surged from the open, and the bulls are back. Volume was good again today as the indices took out overhead resistance. Once again, the buying was present across the board as the bears hid

In his latest quarterly letter, Jeremy Grantham says stocks are still overvalued