From stockcharts the high reading on the Dow, on the 2nd of May 2011 was 12876, intraday. The recent high on Jan. 26, 2012 was 12841, intraday. Ergo we did not make a new high (yet?) and the count still stands, that is this is the top of a wave 2 of 3. 3 of 3 is about to start. Apart from the price itself, the structure definitely supports this view. So does, of course, the fact that only the Dow has managed to retrace, for practical purposes, 100% of the preceding drop. No other index comes even close. One has to be careful not to embrace conspiracy theories too readily, but the simple fact that the Fed would announce the extra year of ultra low rates and think out loud about QE3 exactly at such a critical point, in the absence of any fundamental reasons, makes you wonder.