Bloodbath

That speech Obama gave blaming the GOP for the debt downgrade really calmed the markets down, didn't it?

After closing out the worst week since 2008, Wall Street was once again pummeled on Monday after global sovereign debt and economic fears sent traders fleeing equities with few shelters in sight.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 635 points, or 5.6%, to 10,810, the S&P 500 tumbled 79.9 points, or 6.7%, to 1,119 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 174.7 points, or 6.9%, to 2,358. The FOX 50 sank 50.7 points, or 5.9%, to 814.

Volatility has been extremely high in recent trading sessions. The selloff over the past two weeks has been so furious in fact that "its force now rivals almost anything we’ve seen in the post war era," according to Daniel Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG. The VIX, often referred to as a fear gauge, spiked 45% to a 52-week high.

The selloff was broad, with every major sector taking deep losses. In a sign of the depth of the selling, 98% of the volume on the New York Stock exchange was in declining shares. The Dow closed below 11,000 for the first time since October 2010, and every blue chip ended in the red.

Financial shares like Dow-component Bank of America (BAC: 6.51, -1.66, -20.32%) and Citigroup (C: 27.95, -5.49, -16.42%) took the biggest hit. The cost to insure the debt of major banking institutions skyrocketed as concerns spread that the institutions may need to seek fresh capital. Bank of America quickly spoke out against the concerns, saying it has sufficient capital, but it couldn't stem the 19% slide its stock took.

Wow. I've gotta think we'll see some of this and last Thursday's losses correct in the next few days, but who knows? If we can keep Obama away from a microphone we have a chance.