Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has been subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding commercial-loan practices. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on FITB.

This morning, FITB opened at $13.97. So far today the stock has hit a high of $14.15 and a low of $13.67. As of 11:50, FITB is trading at $14.02, down $0.58 (-4.0%). The chart for FITB looks bullish and S&P gives FITB a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• People familiar with the issue said that European regulators are gearing up to file new antitrust charges against Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC). The charges, the Wall Street Journal reported, would allege Intel gave major European retailers an incentive not to sell computers that use Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) chips.

• The New York Times reported that News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) New York Post and The Daily News, owned by Mortimer Zuckerman, are exploring a print pact and have been in talks to find ways to combine some business functions of the papers, according to people briefed on the matter.
• According to sources, the San Francisco Business Times reported that Washington Mutual Incorporated (NYSE: WM) may be planning more layoffs in September. It is unclear how many employees will be affected and from which departments.

• In an effort to preserve capital, data compiled by Bloomberg showed that troubled mortgage companies Federal National Mortgage Association (NYSE: FNM), or Fannie Mae, and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: FRE), or Freddie Mac, may cut dividends after more than $11B in combined losses since last year.
• Three people familiar with the matter said that the SEC subpoenaed Wall Street investment banks including The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) and Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE: MER) in its hunt and crack down on suspected manipulation of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH) shares. Bloomberg reported that two of the people said the SEC, which yesterday curtailed short selling in financial stocks, is looking for e-mails and trading records and is also examining whether securities firms have "adequate controls" to deal properly with misconduct.