1/29 Watchlist

Blue chip stocks (SPY) for the fifth day are trading within a range, roughly 110.47 down to 107.91. More or less.

ESTRAGON: Charming spot. (He turns, advances to front, halts facing auditorium.) Inspiring prospects. (He turns to Vladimir.) Let's go.
VLADIMIR: We can't.
ESTRAGON: Why not?
VLADIMIR: We're waiting for Godot

"Godot" -- it is a little known fact -- is French for "volatility".

1/22 Morningline: OK, maybe panic just a little

Blue chip stocks opened below the low set on Dec. 31, 2009, breaking a bullish price pattern of higher highs and higher lows that began on July 7 by one reckoning, or on March 6 by another.

Using prices on the SPY exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P500:

The long-running uptrend ended Jan. 14 with  a high of 115.14, and opened this morning at 111.20, dropping rapidly to 111.01, the low so far today. The Dec. 31 low was 111.39.

The uptrend began either at the July low of 87 or the March low of 67.10.

The VIX -- the so-called fear index --  has risen to 24.16. That's 23 percent above the low of just three days ago. . . .