By Stockpickr Staff
Updated at 2:59 p.m. EDT on July 2, 2009

The traders of CNBC’s “Fast Money” are starting to prepare their viewers for the upcoming earnings season and the second half of the year.

Joe Terranova believes that the second half will not be as easy as the second quarter, where everything went up due to the reflation trade. He told viewers to look for more of a trading environment in the second half and to stay nimble.

Karen Finerman said she is mildly optimistic going forward, but she really wants to see what the financial firms have to say when they report earnings in July.

Pete Najarian mentioned that he expects strong earnings reports from financials such as Goldman Sachs (GS), along with some improvements in the utility sector. Guy Adami thinks Goldman will report a strong quarter, but he wouldn’t own the stock at these levels. He said look for Goldman and Jefferies Group (JEF) to pull back. Terranova likes Goldman and Morgan Stanley (MS) for the second half, but Adami feels the overall market is set to go lower because of the continued weakness in the transports.

The “Fast Money” crew has recently highlighted trading ideas that play off of the utility sector, stocks for the second half of the year and stocks with unusual options activity. Here are some highlights from over the past week as aggregated from the show.

Fast Money’s Second-Half Stock Picks: Which stocks should investors look to play for the second half of the year? On Tuesday’s “Fast Money” show, Joe Terranova told viewers: “The Powershares DB USD Bullish (UUP) is a bet on a dollar rally in the second half. The play will work as a hedge against a rollover in the equities market and against those who believe the dollar is going to weaken.” Fast Money’s Second-Half Stock Picks include Apple (AAPL) and Goldman Sachs Group (GS).

Joe Theismann’s Stock Picks: Recently, former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann joined the traders to talk about some stocks he’s playing. On last Friday’s “Fast Money” show, Theismann told viewers: “I like Rambus (RMBS) in the technology space.” Joe Theismann’s Stock Picks include U.S. Nat Gas Fund (UNG) and ProShares UltraShort Financials (SKF).

Fast Money’s Rising Stock Stars: In a segment called “Rising Stock Star,” the traders reveal their favorite rising stocks. On Monday’s “Fast Money” show, Guy Adami told viewers: “SolarWinds (SWI) had one of the more successful IPOs of the year. And I think their online distribution is very interesting because it keeps overhead costs low.” Fast Money’s Rising Stock Stars include IMAX (IMAX) and Palm (PALM).

Fast Money’s Utilities Stock Picks: The utility sector might seem old and boring, but this space is really starting to heat up! On last Friday’s “Fast Money” show, Guy Adami told viewers: “PG&E (PCG) is my favorite name in the space. At 11 times forward earnings and a 4.5% dividend it’s attractive.” Fast Money’s Utilities Stock Picks include Duke Energy (DUK) and Southern (SO).

Fast Money’s Options Action: The traders have noticed some unusual options activity in a number of stocks. On Tuesday’s “Halftime Report” segment, Pete Najarian told viewers: “I’m seeing strong put activity in Nvidia (NVDA). Speculation that Apple is switching to AMD chips is driving bearish bets.” Fast Money’s Options Action includes Ford Motor (F).

Fast Money’s Gaming Emerging Market Trades: Is there a big catalyst coming for emerging markets that could make the sector well worth gaming? On Tuesday’s “Fast Money” show, Tim Seymour told viewers: “The catalysts for emerging markets will be China’s PMI numbers that are coming out tonight and some evidence of real demand from OECD.” Fast Money’s Gaming Emerging Market Trades include Gerdau (GGB) and Vivo Participacoes (VIV).