RTFA: http://finance.google.com/finance?cid=983582

…not to fan the flames or anything, but the DOW has returned to September 11, 2001 levels. Really, that’s not such a bad thing, given how overvalued everything became during the deregulation of the last 8 years. …but in 52 weeks, the volume of the DOW has been cut in half, and that level of shock is going to … reverberate.

Here’s the upside: there is still actual value in the US economy. Yes, we’re the collective victims of massive pump-and-dump fraud, but it’s hardy like “we” aren’t producing anything. In other words, the market needs to bottom out at some value above zero. That will happen when people start to believe that things are undervalued, so it will make sense to invest again. This very process can be hindered if there is no effective monetary system that functions as a medium for the transmission of value, and that just might happen if the dollar fails.

Why, dear reader, might the dollar fail? Get ready for Bretton Woods III.