This isn't good. Unless you want to call it another correction. The DOW is at 9781 as of 1PM EDT.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell below 10,000 for the first time since 2004 after losing more than 500 points in the first hour. The index has lost more than 1,100 points — or about 10 percent — in slightly more than a week.

The precipitous declines, which accelerated as the morning wore on, came a day after European governments were forced to scramble to save several major banks and lenders from collapse. The moves reinforced the global reach of the current crisis and alarmed depositors and regulators in the United States and abroad.

European stocks fell even further, with the major indexes in London, Paris, and Frankfurt down nearly 7 percent.

Let's wait for the Chicken Little's to start with the "negative energy."

You would think the state governments could take care of themselves. Whatever happened to the Anarchists crying "Big Brother" and "Authoritarian." We can't have this big Federal government. Give the power to the states and the people. That flies out the window pretty quick.

The NYT reports that if the United States government doesn't lend California $7 billion, the state could run out of money in a few weeks without it. And what happens after those 2 weeks (financially) in California? Need more money? Try raising more from State taxes.

“California and other states may be unable to obtain the necessary level of financing to maintain government operations and may be forced to turn to the Federal treasury for short-term financing,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said in the letter, which was first reported by The Los Angeles Times.

Asked what would happen if the markets or the government (for loans) did not come through, Mr. Schwarzenegger replied, “This is no such thing in my vocabulary as ‘what if not.’ We will.”

Wait until every state pulls this stuff. That should escalate the national debt.