What does the word austerity mean to you?

"Austerity: noun, the trait of great self denial, especially refraining from worldly pleasures, strict economy."

It would seem that the meaning of the word "austerity" has been lost in translation in Europe. How can you expand and grow an economy when the very meaning of austerity is the opposite of expansion? There is no way Greece or any country can grow their economy in an austerity program. They won't be able to pay back the massive amount of money they owe everyone.

What we are seeing now is pure political theater. Everyone talks a good game, but unfortunately there are no easy answers or solutions to a problem that took years to grow into a global problem.

We are just two days short of the end of Q3 and the end of the month. How are these markets going to close for the quarter and for the week? Depending on which markets you are looking at, most markets are lower for the month, with the exception of the dollar index. The dollar index could possibly close at a seven-month high on the monthly charts.

One thing is for certain, Europe is not the United States of America. In Europe there are too many areas of national pride for each individual country. I always believed this national trait would act as the Achilles' heel in a euro zone economy. My view has not changed.

Can the banks be saved? We will let the markets answer that question for us.