HOW NOW, DOWN DOW?

So it's a little red box on a stick...
what's the big deal?

Amidst the recent slew of disorientating market swings, I've been keeping a steady eye on some key technical indicators, waiting for a signal to buy for what I suspect could be a multi-month bounce.

TOO EARLY TO BUY, TOO LATE TO SELL

Armageddon headlines are suddenly back in vogue.
Not a single positive story to be found on the Marketwatch front page,
and some of the TV media coverage is becoming hysterical.  

At last!

We began to see signs of true panic today, with a major spike in both the $VIX volatility index and the Equity Put/Call ratio.  This bodes well for a sharp rebound in coming days, which I fully expect to be met with more selling in the weeks to come.

THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

FTSE 100 August 4th 2011

ishares Emerging Markets ETF August 4th 2011

Brazil ishares ETF August 4th 2011

France CAC40 index August 4th 2011

Germany DAX index August 4th 2011

US S&P500 index August 4th 2011

Hear that strange sucking sound?  Is it the sound of stock prices swirling down the plughole?  Is it the sound of traders' sphincters suddenly tightening en mass?  Or is it the sound of millions of snoring investors across the world suddenly waking up?

RISK RISES DRAMATICALLY

The third 'Head-and-Shoulders' pattern in three years.
In contrast to June 2010 when I posted a similar chart, mainstream financial media 
don't seem to have made much of it:
if this is an indication of trader complacency, we're in trouble.

Just a couple of days after I posted warning of an on-coming economic train, the world's stock market investors have begun sending out signals of distress like they're tied to the tracks.