Stampede to the Exits

It's somehow poetic that a plunge of almost 9% in China's stock market sparked the most panic-stricken day in the U.S. stock market since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. China is our silent partner in sustaining economic growth via the symbiotic relationship of its excess savings and cheap labor fueling our excess spending and debt.

So when already jittery traders saw China's stock market and other world markets plunge overnight and U.S. durable goods orders come in much weaker than expected, investors decided it was finally time to redefine risk and take money off the table.

On the heels of Monday's record-setting M&A transaction and former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's talk of recession, the market that was "due for a correction" finally hit its payday. ...