Oct 16 - Afternoon update

The market has settled some since dropping over 300 pts after the first hour of trading this morning, with the Dow currently trading down only .5%. Continental Airlines reported tremendous 3Q results, and is currently trading up 14%, carrying the rest of the Airline sector with it (trading on average up 13% as crude continues to drop). VIX has settled a bit, currently trading up 10%, down from its earlier gains of 18%. Sector stength currently showing in Energy, Pharma, and Tech. GOOG earnings will be highly anticpated after close today.