Another down day but could have been worse, as it was shaping up as the worst 2 day stretch in about 5 years. At the lows, Dow reached almost 13.1 near bottom of its trading range over the last few months (about 14K top & 13K bottom). It bounced back to close at 13266, down only 39. Tech was hit harder, down 2% or only half it's maximum loss during the day. Google, RIMM, Apple, Cisco all got slammed hard. Those investors learned about gravity, what goes up also comes down. The VIX (measures volatility) is at 26, above 20 is considered a big number suggesting more wild swings. After the close Dow futures were below the close, i.e. the last shot was negative. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Financials including banks had a fairly mild day. But Washington Mutual yields about 11% and Countrywide is coming under a dark cloud again. Big bank stocks hung in there as sellers finally gave up after 1 EST. It's hard to remember the last time a bank reported good news!