Have you been worried about whether to sell your stocks now? Freaked out about the upcoming recession all the talking heads on TV are worried about? Did Tuesday's bill selloff confirm all your deepest fears? Several times on BloggingStocks.com we've noted that selling or buying based on emotion usually leads to worse results, and at the end of the day today that truism was reinforced as the market surged back to make up for Tuesday's losses.

With the confidence of a federal rate cut probably speaking to some investors, and with the usual mechanics of supply and demand and market volatility coming into play, the market jumped.

The Dow was up 2.5%, the S&P 500 up 2.1%. Even the NASDAQ, with its heavy complement of tech companies who reported low earnings, bumped itself up 1%.

Although market volatility hasn't been seen like this in some five years, the idea that this week will see only a falling market has now been busted. But the question is, will the surge continue, or just peter out?

Alexion Pharm (NYSE: ALXN) is a product developer of anti-inflammatory therapeutics, primarily for hematological and cardiovascular discords, autoimmune diseases and cancer. ALXN is recently up $1.35 to $73.81 on unconfirmed & renewed takeover chatter. ALXN has a market cap of $2.7 billion, with long-term debt of $176 million. ALXN had June 2007 total quarterly revenue of $9.6 million. ALXN November option implied volatility of 57 is above its 26-week average of 41 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risks.

Sterlite (NYSE: SLT), a non-ferrous metals and mining company based in India, is recently up $2.47 to $22.10. SLT call option volume of 3,868 contracts compares to put volume of 521 contracts. SLT November option implied volatility of 84 is above its six-week average of 51 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Though August's market volatility is now a distant memory for some investors, it could be a spur to seek out assistance from financial planners. How can financial planners advise clients to deal with volatility, both from a psychological and portfolio standpoint? What does volatility actually indicate about underlying economic fundamentals (apart from fear and uncertainty)?

In my view, financial planners need to be honest about what they know and what they don't know. And they should advise their clients to prepare themselves for volatility through a combination of balancing their life – the psychological part -- and portfolio contingency planning – the portfolio perspective.

From a psychological perspective, I don't know if financial planners have a role – beyond recommending psychologists who specialize in helping people deal with psychological pressures related to money. But one thing financial planners can do is to be honest about the limitations of their knowledge:

A piece in The Wall Street Journal laments that the day to day gyrations of the market are hard to predict. Duh. Furthermore, the methods that once appeared to be effective in making predictions no longer work. Double-duh.

It's an interesting piece, and a good one, focused on the role that hedge funds may be playing in increasing market volatility. The problem is this: who really cares? According to some, days where 90% of shares traded in the same direction, was a good indicator of a bottom:

"This used to be a good signal of a major bottom," says Tim Hayes, Ned Davis's chief investment strategist. "Now, it could be turning into a signal of the end of a less-significant market correction -- or it could be turning into an inconsistent signal" that simply means investors are anxious

Well wasn't that enlightening?

There have been very few market prognosticators, and not enough to make me think it's anything other than luck, who have correctly predicted the markets swings over an extended period of time. Does any of this volatility matter for the long-term investor? No, and the long-term investor is the only one who's likely to do well over the long-term.

So sit back, dollar-cost average, and count on the long-term growth of the economy for long-term returns. And don't pay attention to investment strategists who use the word could twice in the same sentence.

Ted Allrich is the founder of The Online Investor and author of the just released book: Comfort Zone Investing: Build Wealth And Sleep Well At Night. In this weekly column, he'll offer advice to investors who are just getting started.

The stock market has gyrated wildly lately, up 130 points in one day, down 185 points the next, only to go back up 100 points the following day. Which way is this thing going? Should you hold on or jump off? Or should you be buying now? No one knows where it's going but here are a few ways to lower your stress during these turbulent times.

First, don't over invest. When the market is this volatile, take some of your profits off the table. If there is a clear, positive indicator that the market will do better because of increasing earnings or interest rates are going lower (unless there's a recession in the making), then you can put more money back into stocks. But right now may be a good time to take a more wait-and-see attitude than being fully invested with a lot of hope. Do not, however, get all the way out of the market. Trying to time the market is the same as telling the future: You can't do it (nor can anyone). Always stay in the market with some of your investments.