Bleak-Time ETFs: Go Long Banks, Short Growth

For more coverage from TheStreet.com Ratings team, check out TheStreet.com Ratings section.

Having problems understanding anything to do with the markets right now? You are not alone.

TheStreet.com Ratings team has sorted through the exchange-traded funds that received the biggest upgrades from us this month and found that for these hellfire times, two strategies may still hold for the near future:

• Go long the financial sector with the KBW Regional Banking ETF (KRE Quote); and
• Go short the Russell 2000 index with the ProShares Ultra Short Russell 2000 Growth (SKK Quote), which seeks investment returns that correspond to twice the inverse of the daily performance of the Russell 2000 Growth Index.

As every government on earth shells out copious amounts of taxpayer money to save the global banking industry from the greed and incompetence that marked it for most of the decade, it makes for a perfect opportunity for investors willing and able to take the risks to profit and recoup some of their tax dollars from any rally in bank stocks.