The economic stimulus bill passed. So why did the market implode?

It was not a happy day on Wall Street today.

The Dow plummeted 382 points, or 4.62%, and the Nasdaq swan-dived (or is it "swan-dove"?) 67 points, or 4.2%.

You would have expected just the opposite, with the economic "stimulus" plan getting through the Senate (barely), and some supposedly positive things about to happen to kick-start the broken financial system back into gear.

So I did some research to see what the market didn't like about today's events...

The new Secretary of the Treasury - Tim Geithner - made an announcement about the second phase of the $700 billion bailout package known as TARP (or the Troubled Asset Relief Program). Basically, the new approach is based on the elimination of toxic assets via a "bad bank", capital injections and fixes to the credit market, and help for homeowners in the form of mortgage relief.

Sounds pretty good - so what happened after that?

Well, one source I found today stated that poor Tim looked like a "deer caught in the headlights" as he made his announcement... which failed to inspire any confidence whatsoever. In fact, he did just the opposite.

After giving the few details about what the Treasury Department would do, our new secretary shockingly admitted the plan was just a "rough outline" and would likely be changed in the upcoming months as things evolve.

Tim then sped off to Italy for a speech at a G7 meeting - causing more uncertainty as many analysts speculate he was going to "put his head together" with other leaders to figure out exactly what the heck to do.

The stock market hates uncertainty. And the new administration has produced a TON of that lately, with no real show of leadership whatsoever. And the market certainly does NOT like "we'll figure it out as we go along" kind of thinking.

Let's just hope and pray we don't see the market crash here. Be safe (and alert) out there!

But even in the worst markets, there are always a handful of stocks doing surprisingly well. In this market, I'd continue to look at the Gold stocks for opportunities.

And if the market truly is "going to hell in a handbasket" - you can make huge short-term gains in the ultra-short ETFs - like FAZ did today (up 26% just today on huge volume).

I've found a beauty of a Baffle Play this evening too. It's a business equipment stock, and it's been beaten down way too much in my opinion. Selling for over $10 just last May, it's just over a buck and change now. I'll name it for my Premium Members.