September is the worst month for owning stocks, historically speaking, and the two big crashes came in October -- the crash of 1929 and the crash of 1987.
September and October have the reputation for being the worst months and the media uses phrases such as September Slaughter and October Massacre to describe the sell-offs over the years. I admit I've been guilty of using the terms when I was reporting the news on radio and TV.
Will we have a September Slaughter in 2011 and an October Massacre to follow?
Or perhaps are we close to a bottom and there won't be much more downside action ahead?