For those of you who own blue-chip stocks, this is an eye-opening prediction. An article at CNBC.com talks about the possibility of Dow 10,000. Dow 10,000!

I repeated that in case you didn't get it the first time. It sounds pretty scary to me, and it should sound pretty scary to a lot of you out there. I'd have to presume that most investors don't use the stock market primarily as a substitute casino for the times when Las Vegas is out of reach. Many of you out there must own a Disney (NYSE: DIS) or a Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), maybe a General Electric (NYSE: GE) or a Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), something generally considered core and safe for the long-term. I happen to own the first three. Anyone who does is in for some huge volatility if Dow 10,000 comes along.

Actually, whether it comes along or not, volatility is here to stay. And here's the thing about the Dow 10,000 prediction: it isn't so farfetched on a mathematical basis. When you first read that number, you say to yourself "No way, that would be like a depression!" But because the numbers are getting higher, the actual point moves aren't as dramatic as they may seem on the surface. If we hit 10,000, that would represent a decline of approximately 29% from the high reached back in October 2007. As I write this, the Dow is about 20% off the high. Is another 9% feasible?

Known for their bearish outlook and their forecast for deflation, co-editors Pete Kendall and Steve Hochberg in The Elliott Wave Financial Forecast suggest, "Throughout the first half of the year, we have observed the succession of credit events setting up the greatest credit crisis in history,"

The advisors notes, "A wellspring of credit drives every bubble. The beginning of the end for the credit boom occurs upon a tightening of credit. An intensifying thirst for cash will dry up the well of credit that fed the global markes over the last few years. As it dries up, the seemingly endless succession of market manias will end, also."

The expansion of credit, they contend, lifted virtually all asset prices, and, they say, its contraction will now guide them lower, much to the dismay of those seeking refuge in supposed safe havens.

Meanwhile, Hochberg and Kendall add, "The big news in the bond market is the credit spread explosion, which remains the bedrock of our bond forecast. The steep widening that occurred in July should be the beginning of a historic move. When it ends, junk bonds will have disappeared from the investment landscape."