After a bad week in U.S. equities and a really bad week in emerging markets, is there a relevant message? If so, does it matter for day traders, swing traders, investors, or all of the above?

The week ahead features a real free-for-all with plenty of data, Fed news, and earnings results. After weeks of a data drought, there is finally something to savor.

Last Week Recap

Last week I suggested that we would have a parade of pundits debating the idea of a market top. Earnings would take second fiddle. That was pretty accurate, especially in the Thursday and Friday selling that were described as "ugly" and "carnage" on financial TV.

This Week's Theme

The market action has taken center stage, with everyone trying to infer the message from the 2.6% decline in the S&P 500. Here are the many contenders:

Proof that the entire 2013 rally was "built on sand" and that the Fed folly will soon be exposed. The Fed will be forced to reverse the planned tapering, which itself will be a recognition of the futility of all central bank policy.

Proof that market valuation is in bubble territory.

A recollection that the current issues are similar to some past crisis in Asia or Mexico or somewhere. Those past examples created a big market reaction and had memorable mnemonic names.

Evidence that the long-expected market correction has begun.

A "healthy" and modest correction.

A meaningless blip, especially in the context of prior gains.

You can find backers for any and all of these horses. The biggest lesson seems to be how every pundit sweeps aside what has been happening for many months, and seizes on the "market message" from a few days as confirmation for his own preferred theory.

As always, I have some thoughts that I will share in the conclusion. First, let us do our regular update of the last week's news and data. Readers, especially those new to this series, will benefit from reading the background information.

Last Week's Data

Each week I break down events into good and bad. Often there is "ugly" and on rare occasion something really good. My working definition of "good" has two components:

The news is market-friendly. Our personal policy preferences are not relevant for this test. And especially -- no politics. It is better than expectations.

The Good

Some of the recent news was good.

Bullish sentiment declined again – a contrarian indicator. Here is the chart from Bespoke:

The trucking index is higher – up in December after a surge in November. (See Calculated Risk).

– up in December after a surge in November. (See Calculated Risk). World industrial production is strong – a new high for the cycle. (See Ed Yardeni).

Earnings season is going well – despite the spin and heavy emphasis on a few big names. The chart is from Bespoke. Also see Brian Gilmartin's must-read update on Q4 results and changes in forecasts.

The Bad

There was a little bad news.

More Americans feel worse off financially than a year ago. (Via Gallup).