Can The Fed Ignore This Market Rout?

Stocks are getting slammed again on Friday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.1 percent on Thursday to close below the 17,000 level for the first time since October. The S&P 500 dipped below 2,000 and sliced below its 200-day moving average, putting its post-2011 uptrend at risk. Hints of panic are in the air as well, as the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) surged 25 percent yesterday and another 23 percent today to return to levels not seen since October.