Two things stand out this week. First, the Fed saying interest rates will not be raised for an extended period. This means the rate will remain at " 0 ". This is a strong indication that the Fed is fighting a deflationary environment(depression like). Second, the unemployment rate is now 10.2% with an effective rate up 0.5 to 17.5%, yikes. Neither of these facts gives me any confidence in this economy. The low interest rate has been great for stock prices but PE's are historically high. Volatility is increasing, signaling a change. After a 60% run - up which way do you think the market is heading. Bottom line is if you think the economy is returning to health then we are looking at a correction but if the economy sags then we are looking at something worse than a correction. Frankly , I don't like the outlook. You can't get a recovery without inflation which is bad for stocks. Yet if there is no recovery then we face continued recession/depression which is bad for stocks. Remember any recovery brings higher interest rates, bad for stocks. So it looks to me like it's pick your poison. The rise in Gold is ominious. Be careful, this market will take no prisoners. Personally, I am happy with VRAL. It has run -up and retraced, lowering downward risk while we wait for good news that will cause a major spike. I'll take that game plan. GLTA, Bill