Heading down as we go through the zero line on the summation index.  The Dow fell 364 points on extremely heavy volume.  The advance/declines were almost 8 to 1 negative.  The bounce was weak yesterday and the breadth numbers didn't lie.  We are getting near the 1880 level on the S&P 500 where I thought that perhaps things would hold up.  But we are on dangerous turf.  The technical indicators are very oversold and there isn't any upside from those oversold levels.  Collapse is a term that would best describe the environment.  Some readings are getting off the charts.  We should see a washout at some point but I'm not going to try and guess when that will be.  Caution advised.  GE was off 3/8 and the volume was good.  Maybe we will get down to $27 here and I can try the February calls.  Earnings due a week from Friday.  Gold gained back what it lost yesterday as the US dollar was flat.  The gold shares didn't follow as both the XAU and GDX barely moved.  Volume was light.  Still no love for the gold shares.  Mentally I'm still overbooked this week and feeling tired.  My guess here is the powers that be will look for the best expiration level for the market to take profits.  So Fridays close could get interesting.  But I would not try any trades right now because we are in a zone of no return.  We could go 500 points either way in a hurry when things get like this.  It is a rare time indeed.  If you have a long term view on things, you can start looking for bargains.  But be aware that things could get even lower as the year goes on.  So we'll see.  I wish that I could be of more help but my focus isn't all there right now due to external circumstances.  My January prognosis for higher prices to begin the new year was wrong anyway.  So hold on to your seats.  It will be interesting to see what happens around the world tonight.  Stay tuned.