correction

The current downdraft in stock prices has understandably sent the happy faces on CNBC running for cover as they try to figure out what went wrong.

After all, the U.S. economy is growing and the Federal Reserve has made it clear that interest rates won't be raised until the middle of next year. How could stocks have the temerity to sell off?

We need to think through whether or not this market slump is simply a correction, or a harbinger of the kind of sell-off that puts our hard-won gains at risk...