The S & P closed at its lowest level since September 4^th, 2009. Investors sold the end of the quarter as the Dow lost 9.1%, the S & P fell 11%, the NASDAQ dumped 12% and the Russell 2k gave back 10.2%. After a failed quarterly performance, the first few days of the third quarter were mired by economic reports that were coming up shy of expectations. The Consumer Confidence dropped to 52.9 from 62.7. The ISM Manufacturing Index slipped to 56.2 from 59.7. Friday’s jobs report reflected the same sentiment we saw in the confidence report, with job losses totaling 125,000, although 225,000 were census workers. It was still below expectations, but not by much. The drop in the unemployment rate to 9.5% was mainly due to 652,000 discouraged workers saying they were no longer looking. However, it was interesting to see the VIX plummet to 30 from its Thursday intraday high of 38.58. We didn’t quite get the catalyst we had hoped on Friday, but I still don’t see the level of panic that one would expect when the averages break a supposedly highly significant technical support level and were aided by disappointing economic data, forecasts for a double-dip recession, and some poor early earnings reports. The market seems braced for horrible news, and it’s been getting some decent negative news, which has kept the bulls at bay. There is almost nothing on the economic calendar this week and we’ve got another week to wait before earnings, so look for some positive basing to prep for earnings.