And He who loseth wealth, loseth much
He who loseth a friend, loseth more
He who loseth his spirits, loseth all
Spanish Proverb

The Dow closed down Friday for the 12th time in 13 sessions, the first time that's happened since October 8, 1974. Obviously, it's a red flag and a negative sign. I think it's more an indictment of lack of leadership and its potential impact on the economy than current economic circumstances. The dollar continues to surge against the inept Euro, and the more the dollar moves up, the more money leaps out of stocks and other assets into US treasuries or the sidelines—both very crowded places and both losers to inflation. Of course there is an argument that deflation is back in play, which I don't believe, but pessimism could make deflation a self-fulfilling event.

One thing is for sure, the market is drowning in a sea of doubt. There are a bunch of leaders clinging to the idea of redistribution of wealth, more debt, and less discipline.

If this is the end of the road, then it must be time to split the spoils. This has been part of the administration's goal from day one with redistribution policies that would be anything but mutually beneficial. Those who buy into the idea that taking the results of one person's hard work, sweat, and dreams and giving it to someone else that had nothing to do with the creation of that wealth have a misguided notion of how symbiotic relationships are supposed to work. In fact, it's not ideal, it's not fair, and it's not American.

There is a huge difference between helping unfortunate neighbors and simply taking money from one person that earned it and handing it to someone else in the notion of leveling the playing field.

Today's Session

Facebook is an anchor and is mitigating news out of China that might have sent our shares soaring. Instead the early strength in futures trading is fading, so we aren't going to force the issue. There is also a nice deal this morning, with ETN buying CBE for a hefty premium, but again I'm not sure it's going to be enough to offset the FB fiasco. Add to the mix the G8 and NATO summit were just as big of duds as the world's most exciting IPO.

I think the best thing we can hope for is no more big events by people with ulterior motives.