A steep sell off to end the week as the Dow lost 303 points on average volume. The advance/declines were about 6 to 1 negative. I was leaning more towards the upside but that was obviously wrong. Troubles in Europe again and there is no end in sight there. The summation index will now head lower after todays action. The S&P 500 had a huge drop in August and we have stabilized and moved sideways since then. This is perhaps a bear flag implying much lower prices in the offing. The German stock market has already broken through to the downside. This is something to consider and keep in mind. GE lost 1/2 on good volume. We are back to test support at $15. If GE breaks down through $15, it could mean that the stock indices will follow. I'm still looking at the January calls there. Gold was up a couple of bucks as the US dollar soared. I'm not sure what is going to happen here because higher dollar prices are generally bearish for gold. However the flight to safety trade is still in vogue and gold is part of that. The XAU lost 3 7/8 today. ABX down 2/3, GG fell 1/2 and NEM off 3/8. Volume was average. I might try some gold share calls next week but it is extremely risky. Still overbought and staying there. Mentally I'm feeling tired. Yesterdays usual aftermarket routine was interrupted by a power failure. 5 days left in the September option cycle. Again, any trades for next week will be of the short term variety. The October cycle has an extra week. I'll check the charts over the weekend and consider what strategy to undertake for next week. I'd expect some follow through downside on Monday but after that, who knows? For now it's Friday afternoon and time for a rest.