My crystal ball finally came back from vacation this morning. The little bugger never seems to be around when I really need him. Here's what he's saying now:

We are no longer in Kansas. This is indeed the Big Correction we've all been waiting for. It is not the beginning of a crash, but a choppy, multi-month down/sideways consolidation which should last until late summer/early fall. Expect a strong rally after it ends.

The PM sector should do OK, but it may be limited to mid & large cap producers. Most speculative stocks will be under pressure, but a small number of them could do fine (this is where the stock-picking is critical - my shotgun approach will not work in this environment).

There should also be some selective opportunities in biotechs & fertilizer stocks later in the summer.

This will be a difficult time for a lot of traders. Day traders and stock pickers should do OK. Since I'm not particularly good at either, I plan to hold a very large portion of my portfolio in cash and just putz around selling options on GDX. Time for tennis, softball and doggie walks.

As for the near term, the crystal ball is a little cloudy, but I expect some more downside probing before a decent bounce starts. I plan to use any bounce to raise more cash - yes even my beloved platinum & paladium plays.