The excitement of another market crisis

Here we are again.  It's one of those times of palpable anxiety, when the routine is upset and expectations seem completely unclear.  It's one of those times when emotions can rule, facts be damned.  Can there be no limit to what could happen?

That may be, or is, completely overstating what is going on now.  After all of the significant market gains that have been experienced by investors who have stayed in the market through good times and bad, we have room to give back without getting into the territory of significantly hurting portfolios. U.S. corporate performance will be anywhere from good to excellent in the earnings season just beginning.  That the wheels are coming off in Europe is an exaggeration.  They're still moving but at an extremely languid pace.

What follows today will be interesting to watch.  The U.S. will certainly be down in the morning, but what happens in the afternoon when U.S. markets are on their own will be telling.