Please stop dumping the problems of Facebook onto other social media companies. Facebook has always been peddling its bizarre brand of mind control/clout onto their users and sadly most of them are kids. There is a big difference between them and Google for instance. Likewise, Twitter is trying to prevent its product from becoming a mass dumping ground for attention grabbers/advertisers whether they be advertisers or political diatribe posters. I don't blame them.

In reality, I generally support the free market. If you don't like Facebook, don't use it and/or create your own company. I choose not to use it for the most part. If you don't like Google, use another browser. In reality, Google is designed show you what you are looking for, thus you are censoring yourself. However, if you don't like that, go to a less precise browser and take more time. If you don't like Twitter's handling of annoying posters or their reforming to prevent junk from clogging their system make or join another forum. Even Trump has not given it up despite fits that they are blocking opinion spammers.

In reality the fact is this is more angst than a real issue. And if there is a real issue it is more centered on Facebook which has been doing a lousy job of protecting its users from its founder and hackers among others. Also, the SEC should never have abandoned their rule preventing people from effectively controlling a company themselves when it goes private. Good luck to all those holding Facebook who want to see changes Mark Elliot Zuckerberg doesn't want to do. The SEC abandoned you to a megalomaniac who said customers who give him information are idiots. What do you expect from investing in a company run by such a person who the SEC let go public while preventing any shareholders from doing anything to stop him.

China has always been a super power. That is why they had nukes and veto power at the UN. The issue is China is becoming more confrontational militarily and politically. Certainly their hostility is most obvious over Taiwan and naval routes to Southeast Asia. In reality this helps the US, because if they want to be a global power they need Asia to support them or at least not be hostile to them. Likewise, their refusal to open their currency to free trade helped them in the past when they tried to devalue and is now hurting them as they watch their currency devalue and can't do anything about it. This prevents them integrating into the global banking market and hurts their desire to be a global currency and banking powerhouse.

China has a lot of problems moving up the value chain created by their clinging onto old habits. Their censorship prevents creativity. Their lack of allowing freedom of religion and general freedom not only binds their citizens but hurts their ability to command moral high ground in most things. Their protectiveness leads to a slow inevitable decline rather than hope for any new avenues for natural growth up the value chain.

That said, their people are very dedicated and efficient and they make slow progress. It's the government more than anything else that is slowing down the process of their country becoming greater than it is today.

As for the US, protectionism has never led a country into a greater position globally which is why what is happening now is signalling a stall in US global domination. Free trade and free markets helped the US into markets across the world and stalled inflation in the US for decades despite its deficit spending. What comes next is anyone's guess. The general consensus is that after Trump some other president will pull the US back onto the rails that propelled it to the #1 stature it has held for decades. Yes, the US has always been great and the US economy has been the envy of the world thanks to free markets and allies with Asia including China, North America including Canada and Mexico, the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, and all of Europe. Let us hope this continues for the world's sake as well as America's.

The market is volitile but seems to be stabilizing as many news items keep adding to perceived risk.

In reality, the Middle East has always been risky and Saudi Arabia has never been that friendly and is rather brutal. Iran has been a problem forever. China has been fighting a slowdown for years now as manufacturing business leaves to SE Asia where it is cheaper. Trump's trade war has been going on for some time and its becoming apparent it is getting worn out and encountering resistance as it increasingly hurts America as well as China. And Europe has always been a problem due to their heavy handed regulations and Italy and Greece problems. Last rates are rising but the market has taken it in step up to here and there is not undue inflationary pressures yet.

Taken this all into consideration, the market is doing quite well. Certainly well enough to go another year given that the problems today are well known and apparent. If the market holds up this week and rises early next week, unless more news hits it should be ok until Christmas.

I think it all comes down to quarterly reporting now.

It seems clear earnings and growth will determine the winners and losers in this volatile market. I'm not surprised the market weakened after yesterday, but I expect it will move rebound from its initial losses later today.

Thanks for the article. Indeed, the Fed rates still are artificially low and QE isn't completely cleaned up either. Sadly, one should be upset that they let rates go artificially low for so long not that they are trying to bring rates back to normalization. If Trump wishes to boost the economy more he will stop or even reverse his tariffs and stop the trade wars. This adversely affects the economy and causes inflation much more than the Federal Reserve's actions do. In fact, the Federal Reserve needs to keep raising rates to counter the adverse effects of the trade war, namely potential inflation.

Nice article explaining China's issue. Too many people mistakenly think China has no problems with so many US Treasuries.

Poor IBM. They should do joint ventures with other tech titans to stay relevant and make use of their patents.

There is little incentive to short right now. It is way too late and most of the selling pressure is gone. The only thing that can hurt this recovery is maybe some terrible trade war with Saudi Arabia or worsening of the trade war with China.

As stated last week. If the market rises up the beginning of this week the market should be fine in the near to intermediate term. I still hold this conviction and that a lot of the end selling was trading to try to take advantage of the auto sell prices people put in at the recommendation of bad brokers "to protect themselves". This just makes them fish to get played with in terrible ways.