If you had asked any chartist what it meant when the VIX topped 40 he/she would have said – panic in the market and probably a washout event had just occurred.br /br /Now ask him/her what it means today when the VIX spends five straight days over 40 (give or take a dime) and you might get a different response. Armageddon? or the Mother of all Bottoms? (For the guys – a J Lo)br /br /Let’s look at this from the contrarian point of view. The bailout plan was turned down by the house a week ago and the economy did not crash. Stocks tanked but reversed the next day.br /br /Then the bill was passed by the Senate a few days later and stocks fell. The House passed the new version and the market fell again.br /br /No matter what happens, stocks go down. Given that the economy is still standing, the market is telling us that the bailout bill stinks. Shouldn’t a rescue be met with cheer?br /br /As John Belushi would say, “but nooooooooooooo”br /br /The market is panicking without it showing up in the indicators. I don’t think I want to own stocks when the next bit of bad news hits. And I don’t mean the latest jobs report, which really was not surprise at all.br /br /Citi failing? A major regional failing to tap the FDIC for a few bil?br /br /How about Treasury Secretary Pat Paulson (any Laugh-In fans out there?) saying that 700 billion was a little off the mark and hereally needs a tril? A trillion! Hhumans really have no concept of just how big that number is.