The technical service, Lowery’s, notes the stock market over the past two months has had more volatility, as measured by 80% and 90% up or down days, than anytime in the past 55 years.

"There will be three major historical drops in the American market over the next hundred years. One will begin to occur late in the year 2006. The primary reason for this fall will be a war in the Middle East. This will have disastrous effect on the European market, which in turn will affect ours."

-Joseph McMoneagle, The Ultimate Time Machine (1998)

FLASHBACK:
WWIII Is Coming 'Whether They Like It Or Not': Top Sharon Aide Arizona Daily Star Tucson, Saturday, April 27, 2002 By STEPHANIE INNES "TUCSON ­­The terror attacks on Sept. 11 and extreme turmoil in the Middle East point to one thing ­­World War III, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Friday during a visit to Tucson. "We've been fighting a war for the past 18 months, which is the harbinger of World War III. THE WORLD IS GOING TO FIGHT, WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT. I'M SURE,'' Ra'anan Gissin, a senior adviser to Sharon, said in an interview Friday."

"I think we are very well aware in the Fed that there is some risk that we would tighten policy more than necessary and that it might induce weakness in the economy... [but] there is a greater risk from not tightening."

-Fed vice-chairman Donald Kohn addressing the British House of Commons (7/5)

LaBranche's stock dropped almost 25 percent yesterday, closing at $9.42, down $3.02 from its $12.44 close the previous day.
In a conference call, Chief Executive Michael LaBranche said the loss was attributable to weakened proprietary trading opportunities in May and June, where revenues dropped to $20 million from $47 million one year ago.