Just when it looked like the world was ready to come to an end, it didn't. Although we've said this before, we hope it is worth repeating. Bear markets are not events. They are a process of confidence destruction. Just as it took about a decade to build euphoric confidence among the public regarding the benefits of stock ownership, so will it take some amount of time to chip away at that now solemn belief in equities.
Bear markets play out over time.
Just as do their bovine counterparts. We've heard talk that there was manipulation in the market on Friday. The fact is that no one really knows this for sure. What is important to focus on is dynamics of the market that are knowable. One clear lesson that has been learned over the past few years is that market turnarounds can come out of the blue and can happen quickly.