Uncharted Territory: Wickedest Bear Market in History

Friday 9:45: DOW OPENS -700, BRIEFLY TURNS POSITIVE. NOW AT -290: Nearing bottom?

Bush's Friday speech: The problem is that banks are holding huge losses making financing daily credit transactions impossible. The government is now using every tool necessary to get these credit markets moving again. The Fed is infusing billions of dollars of liquidity into system and lowering interest rates. FDIC expanding insurance of our money from $100,000 to $250,000. Responsible borrowers will be able to refinance their mortgages to prevent foreclosures.Our government is taking aggressive action and it will work. It will take time. It's an anxious time but Americans can be confident in their future.

We'll see if the public and global markets are reassured by this.

Friday: WORST WEEK, WORST YEAR ON RECORD: Panic selling continues worldwide as few understand the rescue and what it's designed to accomplish. The market first takes down the weak and over-inflated stocks, but near the end, it takes all the good ones. No place to hide before the tide turns and smart money comes back in. We may really be near a bottom however.

Wall Street as we know it---gone. Investment banks--mostly gone. Hedge funds---many gone. Auto industry---Ford, GM---nearly gone. Labor unions that loaded auto makers with excessive demands that pushed them to the brink---nearly gone.

Banks, the most heavily government regulated industry in American history---are now under attempted resuscitation by the very hands that almost killed them--- big government---prognosis unknown but some will be gone. Hank Paulson, President George Bush's greatest big government fixers---still among us.

Markets have fallen through all historical trends and records. We're in totally uncharted territory. Still, a bottom should come soon followed by a wild bounce.

Two silver linings give reason for some small optimism:

First: Treasuries are coming round, with long-term yields turning higher than short-terms for the first time in four years. There's been a wacky inverted curve whereby short-term rates produced higher returns than longer-term ones and it's needed righting which it now has. This is a cautiously optimistic sign.

Second: Gold is not shooting through the roof as it would again if we were going into a depression. If gold rallies wildly now for long, it would indicate ultimate panic. Instead, the dollar is continuing to slowly but surely make headway especially in relation to many foreign currencies. This is a cautiously optimistic sign and a reason to give thanks for small blessings.

One other positive is the price of oil and gasoline is also coming down. This will benefit the American people as we go into what may be a long, cold winter.

Friday is another day. We'll see what happens. I'll be there.