'Fast Money' Portfolios of the Week

Here's what the 'Fast Money' crew's been talking about lately.

Author:
Stockpickr Staff
Publish date:
Feb 25, 2010 8:17 AM EST

WINDERMERE, Fla. (Stockpickr) -- The traders of CNBC's "Fast Money" see some big opportunity in playing the banking sector after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told congress that he plans to keep interest rates ultra-low for several months. On Wednesday's "Halftime Report" segment, Gary Kaminsky told viewers that the U.S. banks look good now because they are conservatively run, have a government backstop and have the yield curve working in their favor.

Brian Kelly agreed, saying that he is bullish on names such as

Citigroup

and

JPMorgan Chase

(JPM) - Get Free Report

. He said these are good banks with good core businesses. However, Kelly advised viewers to stay away from

Goldman Sachs Group

(GS) - Get Free Report

because he thinks it's facing headwinds.

Melissa Lee noted that Citigroup shares were trading higher on Wednesday off of a report from

The Wall Street Journal

that said the bank is in talks to sell its fund-of-fund business to Skybridge Capital. Lee pointed out that the

SPDR KBW Regional Banking

(KRE) - Get Free Report

ETF was near a new 52-week high on the news. She wondered if it was still a good idea to jump into the banks stocks.

Kaminsky said that the markets are bullish on bank stocks because they are looking out six months at their ability to absorb higher interest rates and their position to compete globally. He thinks the U.S. banks will continue to trade better than the European banks.

The "Fast Money" crew has recently highlighted trading ideas that play stocks that work in any economic condition, the top holdings for Carl Icahn and stocks with unusual options activity. Here are some highlights from over the past week as aggregated from the show.

Fast Money's Stocks Thriving in Any Economy

: New research from Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati suggests that the state of the economy might not be as critical to a company's fortunes, as you might have thought. On last Friday's "Fast Money" show, Gulati told viewers: "When companies really focus on their customers, they achieve the holy grail of sales growth and margin growth in a dramatic fashion." The

Fast Money's Stocks Thriving in Any Economy

portfolio includes

Netflix

(NFLX) - Get Free Report

and

Priceline.com

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Louis Navellier's Stock Picks

: Recently, blue-chip growth investor Louis Navellier dropped by the show to offer up his top growth-stock picks (view

Navellier's Portfolio

). On Monday's "Fast Money" show, Navellier told viewers: "

Baidu.com

(BIDU) - Get Free Report

is capturing market share in China like crazy, and

Google

(GOOG) - Get Free Report

is exiting China. I think the stock could double this year easily." The

Louis Navellier's Stock Picks

portfolio includes

Ford Motor

(F) - Get Free Report

and

American Tower

(AMT) - Get Free Report

Fast Money's Contrarian Trades

: The traders see opportunity in making some contrarian bets on the financial sector. On Wednesday's "Halftime Report" segment, Tim Seymour told viewers: "The rise in bank stocks is more about loan provisions coming down. I like the European banks, especially

Deutsche Bank

(DB) - Get Free Report

for its valuation, top-line EPS and market-share gains." The

Fast Money's Contrarian Trades

portfolio includes Goldman Sachs Group and

Bank of America

(BAC) - Get Free Report

Fast Money's Options Trades & Activity

: According to market rumors,

Nucor

(NUE) - Get Free Report

is believed to be a potential buyer of

Commercial Metals Company

(CMC) - Get Free Report

. On Monday's "Fast Money" show, Pete Najarian told viewers: "The number of calls vs. puts suggests to me something could happen for CDC in a positive way." The

Fast Money's Options Trades & Activity

portfolio includes

Dell

(DELL) - Get Free Report

and

Palm

(PALM)

Fast Money's Tiger Woods Trades

: Now that golf legend Tiger Woods has apologized publically for his infidelity, is the Tiger brand ready to make a comeback? What's the trade? On last Friday's "Fast Money" show, Guy Adami told viewers: "If you want to trade the space, I'd look at

Dick's Sporting Goods

(DKS) - Get Free Report

." The

Fast Money's Tiger Woods Trades

portfolio includes

Finish Line

(FINL)

and

Amazon.com

(AMZN) - Get Free Report

Carl Icahn's Top Stock Picks

: Recently, legendary investor Carl Ichan stopped by the show to talk about some of his top holdings. (view