Ominously, the Extra Oomph Is Missing

There was a time not very long ago when stocks would have rallied back to unchanged after being down 200 points as they were on Thursday.  Alas, DaBoyz could only squeeze an unsatisfying 100-pointer from short-covering bears, leaving the Dow in a 91-point deficit at the close. It is becoming increasingly clear that the extra little bit of oomph that distinguishes bull markets from bear markets is missing. How long will the distribution of stocks continue before They pull the plug? My guess is that the topping process will be over by early summer at the latest.