Over the past decade we seen at least $1 trillion dollars spent by private equity firms. These firms have taken over companies for a pittance and then pillaged them by slashing employees and cutting costs. They then used the money to pay down debt rather than rebuilding the company.

Now all of the debt thrown on the acquired companies is coming due and it could cause another economic disaster, even bring down the economy.

Today was a whip-around day. All day. Despite better construction and better manufacturing employment data, the markets looked like they were trying to roll over again before the end of day rally took stocks back up on the day. It seems that bargain hunters won over the fear that was felt earlier this afternoon.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,789.21 +76.48 (0.79%)
S&P 500 1,042.82 +6.63 (0.64%)
Nasdaq 2,049.20 +4.09 (0.20%)

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What a week it was and it is starting off with more of the same! The day before Halloween the market gets spooked. The Dow drops 200 one day, rises 200 the next, and falls 250 to close the week. Yes, financial pundits could point to meaningful stories about the dollars rise, consumer spending sagging, the recession ending and so forth to explain market reactions but there is more to it than that.

Even among the 15 positions discussed in Where should granny put $50,000? only the Vanguard Total Bond Market exchange-traded fund (NYSE: BND) and the Kellogg Co (NYSE: K) were up last Friday. Good thing I advised "granny" to put half her funds in the ETF.

CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) has filed for bankruptcy -- which will lead to the wipeout of the United States taxpayers' $2.3 billion "investment" in the company.

At least, it was billed as an investment at the time, which it was, in the same way that lending your crack junkie cousin beer money is an investment.

"The decision to proceed with our plan of reorganization will allow CIT to continue to provide funding to our small business and middle market customers, two sectors that remain vitally important to the U.S. economy," Jeffrey M. Peek, CIT's Chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "This market-based solution allows CIT to enter into the reorganization process well-prepared and positioned for a swift emergence."

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer wonders whether the big selloff was caused by anxious managers locking in profits.

What happens if it is was mostly lock-in action? What if the big themes that everyone so feared weren't so big, and that the selloff -- so ugly, with so much damage -- was just technical and remains that way?

Besides my oft-repeated statement that I don't expect a pullback to exceed 7%, I think this market didn't make a lot of sense last week.

Here were the big themes: dollar getting stronger, causing a decline in minerals and resources; industrials faltering; recession stocks roaring back.

Today was mired by awful spending and income data as many are actually now not believing that high GDP figure from yesterday. Earnings were virtually the same as earnings tend to beat estimates but because of cost cutting.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,710.54 -252.04 (-2.53%)
S&P 500 1,036.01 -30.10 (-2.82%)
Nasdaq 2,045.11 -52.44 (-2.50%)

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Maybe it was the dollar rising earlier, maybe it was poor housing data from a drop in new home sales. Maybe they wanted more than a marginally positive durable goods reading. Maybe it was that oil inventory is back up. And then there is the notion that stocks have just gotten too far ahead of themselves and there were reports of a large strategist cutting GDP targets. But investors sold religiously today ahead of tomorrow's GDP figure.

Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow 9,762.69 -119.48 (-1.21%)
S&P 500 1,042.63 -20.78 (-1.95%)
Nasdaq 2,059.61 -56.48 (-2.67%)

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The Dow Jones Industrial average jumped about 125 points on Monday but has given back about two-thirds of that gain through trading so far today. The story with the S&P 500 index is similar, though not quite so severe: a giveback of about a quarter of Monday's gain. The NASDAQ Composite index is doing better, up about 3% so far today, to remain virtually even with Monday's gains. The indices are slowly gaining back some ground lost earlier this morning, so by the close of trading today, the markets could show a small gain.

Here are the numbers:

Dow 9,712.28 -29.92 (-0.31%)
S&P 500 1,057.07 -3.54 (-0.33%)
Nasdaq 2,122.42 -1.62 (-0.08%)

Out of the chute this morning, the S&P/Case-Shiller index rose 1.2% in July and gave the market a nice uptick for a while. Then came the report from the Conference Board that its consumer confidence index for September fell to 53.1 from 54.5 in August. What was worse is that economists had estimated a rise to 57 for the month. The soft confidence number is almost certainly due to people worried about losing their jobs. Right now, it could be that traders are waiting for Friday's unemployment report before jumping one way or the other. The negative news won out and the indexes traded down most of the day.

The numbers:

Dow

S&P 500

Nasdaq

The market was remarkably bored about most of what the Fed had to say about the results of the FOMC. A close reading of the minutes shows nothing new. The economy is very modestly better. The turn for the better will be slow and painful. Housing may be getting a tiny bit better. Rates will stay near zero. The only statement which may not have been expected by almost everyone is that the agency will continue buying mortgage-backed and federal debt into the first quarter of next year.

The lack of enthusiasm showed as the major indices traded fairly flat. Today's unofficial numbers:

Dow 9,749.31 -80.56 (-0.82%)
S&P 500 1,060.90 -10.76 (-1.00%)
Nasdaq 2,131.42 -14.88 (-0.69%)

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the bizarre rules these days make it worth looking at stocks through a different lens.

How much should we care about low-dollar speculation? How much should we care about the incessant trading in CIT (NYSE: CIT) (Cramer's Take) and Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) (Cramer's Take), Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) (Cramer's Take), or Vonage (NYSE: VG) (Cramer's Take) and Sprint (NYSE: S) (Cramer's Take)? Or even Citigroup (NYSE: C) (Cramer's Take)?

First, I have to tell you that I worry about it less than I used to. Why? Because when we used to have rules and government officials that were willing to speak the truth about stocks, we wouldn't have these single-digit players out there every day. But without it, how in heck can people not believe that Fannie and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) (Cramer's Take) are the biggest and best bets on a turn in housing?

Today's market news was dominated by two events. The first is that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported earnings a bit better than expected and had a forecast that was a bit better than expected, to. Traders were left to ponder whether this means a modest return of the consumer or whether Wal-Mart is just that much better than its competition.

The government coincidentally announced July retail sales which were helped by the automotive "clunkers" program. Most analysts were surprised that the figure dropped .1%. The two pieces of news made traders reflect on the reality that the recession may be ending but the collateral damage is not.

Because no day can go by without some news on housing, there was date from RealtyTrac that foreclosures rose 7% last month compared to June.

The day's unofficial numbers:

Dow 9,399.17 +37.56 (0.40%)
S&P 500 1,012.84 +7.03 (0.70%)
Nasdaq 2,009.35 +10.63 (0.53%)

Today was one of those of those days that started out weak, and ended up that way as well. Wholesale inventories were down again for the 10th month in a row. Many analyst calls and a late summer breather are also to blame for the selling after we have seen such a strong summer rally. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

DJIA: 9,241.45 (-1.03%)
NASDAQ: 1,969.73 (-1.13%)
S & P 500: 994.35(-1.27%)

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Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was hit today on an analyst call from Rochdale's Dick Bove, who said the settlement being held up by a judge is bad for banks. Shares were down 4% at $15.98 late in the day.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says many stocks, considered frothy at one time, have turned into good turnaround stories.

Here's still one more version of a short-seller's nightmare. What happens when froth turns to investible? What happens when you see behavior that clearly indicates froth and then, somehow, the fundamentals change, and the stock takes off?

We have seen that recently in so many situations that it is pretty dazzling. It was one thing to see Genworth (NYSE: GNW) (Cramer's Take) back from the dead on its own.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says negativity over an impending failure should reverse, fueling a bullish move higher.

Let's say the principal worry when we left on Friday was that a million companies, many of them smaller retailers, would lose their credit over the weekend. Whatever was going to happen with CIT (NYSE: CIT) (Cramer's Take), regardless of whether you hated or liked Jeff Peek or believed they had totally blown their mandate -- I think they had -- could only be negative for the market.

Your only hope on Friday was a government rescue and all of the attendant scrutiny and derision that would accompany such a bailout.