It’s been a wild ride over the last week in the markets, leaving many investors wondering if it’s over, or just beginning. With this question in mind, here are some quotable quotes from the last few days…

The key question you need to ask yourselves is this: Have the reasons for this selloff disappeared after the market rebounds, or are they still deteriorating? I think the reason for this selloff is the deflation coming from Europe, where the eurozone bank lending is dramatically shrinking, and China, where the Chinese economy is being dragged down by yet another notable weakening of their real-estate market. If you can answer the questions if those two have been fixed, they you will know if this is an oversold bounce or a real bottom.”
Ivan Martchev

If you’re a couple of years away from retirement, you’re really rolling the dice.”
Erik Laurence, FeeX

In the first 15 minutes of trading the (S&P 500 futures) traded below the S&P 500 cash index despite a fair basis, according to Bloomberg, of -6.72. This is unheard of and something I have never witnessed in my near fourteen year career on the Street. I can only conclude that many large institutions threw in the towel on the Open in wake of the dislocations in not only stocks but also treasuries.”
Jeremy Klein, Chief Market Strategist, FBN Securities

Taking the QE out of the market, is like taking a recovering heroin addict off his methadone program and dropping him off in Bangkok. You aren’t sure what’s going to happen but you know it’s going to be a wild ride.”
Raj Mahal, former Wall Street trader, CNBC

Of course, you could also hold tight and see what happens in coming weeks and months. But in that case, the market might do the re- balancing for you.”
Judith Ward, Senior Financial Planner, T. Rowe Price, from CNN Money

Even though they’ve seen their fair share of stock market crashes, many Baby Boomers are betting a big chunk of their retirement savings on stocks — leaving them exposed to major losses in today’s rocky market.”
Melanie Hicken, CNNMoney, “Baby Boomers are overexposed to stocks in this rocky market”

It’s been a great ride since the lows of March 2009. Those that were lucky enough to jump on board enjoyed a few years of relatively easy money. My strong suspicion is that period is over.”
Barry Ritholtz, Bloomberg View, “The Easy-Money Stock Market Is Over”

This is all only the beginning. When the smoke clears, stocks could be 30% lower than where they are now, if not more. The great rig of the last five years is ending. Are you prepared?”
Phoenix Capital Research, published at ZeroHedge, “The Great Rig of the Last Five Years is Ending”

Thus far, every other asset bubble in modern history has ended badly, and this one will, as well, in my opinion.”
Thomas H. Kee Jr., CEO of Stock Traders Daily, published at MarketWatch, “Blame the Fed for the coming wealth destruction”

We’ve gone from the S&P 500 hitting all-time highs to losing all its gains for the year in just a month and a half. There has been a sea change in how people are viewing the market.”
JJ Kinahan, TD Ameritrade’s chief strategist

Welcome to a new kind of stock market — one that the average investor should refuse to be invested in.”
John Crudele, New York Post, “Plunge protection behind market’s sudden recovery”

Nothing has fundamentally changed in the past few weeks or certainly the last 24 hours. [The market’s mood swings remind] “all of us about the power of investor sentiment and how fragile it can be at times.”
Harvey Schwartz, Goldman Sachs’s CFO

A negative reaction in markets was long overdue. We think the markets’ weakness owes more to an almost belated reaction to a temporary lull in central bank stimulus than it does to any reduction in the effect of that stimulus in propping up asset prices.”
Matt King and the credit strategy team at Citigroup Inc.