The Market Today

Is the market the pulse of the economy?  Many think so!  If this is the case then there are some points of interest from today's market report. 
1. The market has made a 10% correction.
2. Bloomberg reported that yesterday a trillion dollars was lost in the drop in the market (8/2/2011).
3. There was so much selling today that the "circuit breakers" kicked in.  (Circuit breakers were put in place to stop any stocks that fall more than 10 % in a 5 minute period as a result to the Flash Crash of May 6, 2010).
4. Gold has went up $70.00 since Monday.
5. They called the market today "a panic market" as it was dropping again today.
6. Companies were the biggest stock buyers today as they bought back their own stock as it was so cheap.
7.  The Dow has had the lowest slide since 1978 with 9 straight days of losses...till today.
This is just one day of news in the market.  Economists are worried that this "soft patch" may last and turn into a downward forecast for our economy.  The lowering of our credit rating is still being considered.  What does this all mean for you and for me?  Time will tell.