Today in the market, Wednesday, November 19, 2008 : stocks plunged to their lowest in five-and-a-half years on Wednesday as investors girded for a lengthy economic downturn and automotive executives predicted a far-reaching calamity without a government lifeline. Shares of General Motors Corp plummeted to the lowest in 66 years and Ford hit a 26-year low, but the pain was spread well beyond the automotive sector. Financial shares fell by double-digit margins as a meltdown in the commercial real estate market fanned fears of another wave in the credit crisis. Late in the day, the Federal Reserve slashed its economic growth forecasts through 2009, helping unleash a wave of selling that continued into the closing bell. "We're witnessing the worst market crash in most people's lifetimes," said David Bianco, chief U.S. equity strategist at UBS in New York. "People seem to enjoy telling each other how bad its going to get and working themselves into a frenzy. It's just becoming silly." The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 427.47 points, or 5.07 percent, to 7,997.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 52.54 points, or 6.12 percent, to 806.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 96.85 points, or 6.53 percent, to 1,386.42. (headline & commentary courtesy of Reuters) ETF/CEF Low Volatility: SHY - 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Fund (Leh) iShares FXY - CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust ETF/CEF High Volatility : DOG - Short Dow 30 ProShares Fund DXD - ProShares Ultra Short Dow 30 ETF/CEF Discussion: The carnage continues in the stock market and RSI has responded accordingly. It continues to short the DOW index and go long T-Bonds and the Yen ETFs. It is a simple story and yes, it is repeating itself. I know many of my readers are looking at huge losses in their individual portfolios. There has been so much damage that many are questioning their buy-and-hold strategy. I wish I could give them a word of encouragement, but I’m at a loss to give advice. It took me some time to accept that we were in a bear market to exit my positions, many were losing positions. I wish I had seen it last year when the market peaked, but that is now water over the dam. Last month there was a conference of investment advisors. The question, as reported by Chuck Jaffe, on everyone’s lips, “What do we tell our clients?” The answer was. “Tell them to spend less money.” I kid you not.