A nervous market nevertheless finished nearly flat with the S&P 500 (SPY) lower for a fourth consecutive week by just -0.7% and the NASDAQ 100 (QQQQ) higher by +0.4%. However, at one point before Friday's last hour rebound, the VIX had run up +30% from earlier in the week and the S&P 500 had tagged its 200-day exponential moving average for a near "official" correction of -9.2% off its January highs. This action had the Market Rewind ETF rotation models seeking safety for the first time since the 2009 March lows.

(Click Image to Enlarge/ ETF Rewind Glossary)

The government is flooded with loan modification requests at this point. They have been working through this disaster at an ever increasing rate. They are now doing close to 100,000 per month. But the bad news is the pipeline is full. There are at least 3 million homeowners who need/want some form of adjustment on their mortgage cost.

The word is out on this one in every corner of the country. If you want a break on your mortgage the first step is you have to stop paying for at least three months. I know for a fact that this is correct. I have seen it in a half dozen cases in just the last year. The banks/mortgage servicer will tell this to you on the phone. “You don’t qualify for debt relief, you’re not 90 days late”. In my experience the person on the other end of the line hears this and says to their spouse, “Honey, I have good news! We’re going to get the break we need. All we have to do is stop paying the bills”.