The losses keep piling up -- close to one trillion in stocks, and almost $5 trillion in U.S. homes.

The US dollar initially weakened versus the euro upon the release of US inflation figures, only to rebound in the afternoon as dim prospects for an auto industry bailout lead stocks lower and boosted demand for safe-haven assets.

Although the core PPI numbers accelerated, core CPI dropped and it's expect to head even lower.  Less price pressure will give the Federal Reserve more room to cut interest rates.

Consumer prices fell 1.0% in October, which was the biggest decline on record, dragging the annualized inflation rate to 3.7% from 4.9% -- the lowest since last October.

Has the bear market delivered enough pain, or is more in store?

First the bubble pops, the demand collapses and takes stocks down with it. But never fear, it's all part of Nature's plan.

The release of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's October meeting could garner even more attention than the US CPI figures as they will give clearer insight into the Fed's bias going forward.

High rates of saving causes a recession to turn exceptionally nasty.  People cut back, and all of a sudden the cutbacks are magnified by millions of little decisions all up and down the economic ladder.

Professional system trader Art Collins shares his daily biases in the index, bonds and currency futures markets for November 18.