As Happy Talk Fades, Bleaker Picture Emerges

	Alan Farley The Street.com
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Tech's real tale isn't pretty; the Fed has inspired a painful reality check; and yes, that was program trading.

The new year started out well enough, but it's been a real struggle to hold on to profits in the last few weeks. Unfortunately, I doubt it will get any easier as we grind through the first quarter.

This is a real twitchy market that isn't giving away a single penny of free money. The price swings have been extremely volatile, with little warning between quick spikes and death-defying plunges. In many ways it's more akin to a roller coaster than an auction house.

It seems that every week plays out with...

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