Now that the media is screaming about the new bear market in energy, we need to address or confirm these myths, and understand what is really going on around us.

1) The war on terror has drawn a battle line in the sand. In order to effectively fight and defeat terror, you have to cut off the money supply to countries that support, and produce terrorists. Since the majority of the terrorists come from oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, and the Sudan, ending our dependency to their oil must be a priority. Oil profits earned from these countries go to other countries that carry out terrorist acts, and cutting off this source of funding seems to be a priority.

Never, and I mean never, underestimate the spending power of a woman. While there may be a few select stores that cater to men, women are the driving force behind retail sales. Marketing companies know this, and that is why women are the target of a lot of the advertising we see.

Of course there are young adults and teens too, but even the spending by these groups is driven by mom helping them pay for clothes at places like Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), American Eagle (AEOS), and Aeropostale (ARO).

It seems as if the stock market has even some of the best market mavens baffled. Here are a few articles that will hopefully allow you to keep your perspective;

Jon Hilsenrath, The Wall Street Journal: Mr.Hilsenrath points out that today's jobs report shows that the decline in temp jobs, and the drop in help from retail were leading indicators before the economy caved in 2001. This is a good read.

Bill Cara at billcara.com, has also done a great jobs of shifting through the jobs numbers. Bill is an extremely good student of the markets, and today's article shows it.