More things that make you say, huh?

From high to low, the Dow swung 234 points today yet the VIX dropped 6.30%.  I could have sworn it stood for volatility index, right?

Yes, I know, it is implied volatility but still. How is that sort of drop supposed to tell us that fear was up today, presumably on the lousy ISM report?

Since I am not a vixpert, let's talk PIIGS. Fully aware that Europe closed before Wall Street made its march back up to the flat line (almost), the net losses there were staggering.

Italy down 3.9%
Spain down 3.2%
Portugal down 2.5%
Ireland down 2.3%
Greece down 1.8% (how's that bailout working for ya?)

How about Germany down 2.9% to break support?  Unless something happens overnight, there is some bouncing to do to catch up with the American intraday rebound.   But those are ginormous intraday losses.  (Can you believe the spell checker did not barf on the word "ginormous" but "intraday" it did not like?)

And speaking of barfing, did you see health care and drug stocks in particular?  A breakdown worthy of heavy doses of Cymbalta and/or Prozac. Good thing these companies make that stuff.

So much for a safe haven sector. At least there is still Goldschläger (booze and gold flakes in a glass).

Fun recipe from the Wikipedia page:

Goldschläger can be mixed in equal proportions with Jägermeister and Bacardi 151 to make a shot called liquid cocaine.