In the past week there had been lots of speculation that the stock market had bottomed out and that it was up, up, and away. Unfortunately, the action of the past two days suggests that talk about a market bottom was premature. The housing market is still a disaster, although some smart folks seem to be stepping up to the plate and buying property on the cheap. The credit markets remain fragile and gold is once again on the upswing in price. Perhaps the worse is over, but I have a feeling there may be a significant retracement of recent gains in the days ahead.