The oil collapse. An aging bull. Investor overconfidence. The end of easy money. Some ominous technical formation. If you’re in a tizzy and looking for somewhere to pin the blame for the worst stock-market start since 2008, you’ve got a Grecian urn full of factors to choose from.

BTIG’s Dan Greenhaus is pointing the finger at the cradle of western civilization.

“This remains, to us, a selloff related to... Greek elections,” he said. “If we’re correct, then things may not get much easier until the ECB meeting on the 22nd and Greek elections on the 25th.” In other words, only about three more weeks.

Greenhaus did, however, say Friday’s jobs report could calm things down a bit. “But since the domestic economy remains only a peripheral concern, we’re not sure how much good it can do no matter how good it may be.” So, our fate is back to being determined by Greece.

Then again, Bill Gross is back talking about Fruit of the Loom briefs, from the “this bull is dead” camp. The way things have been going for him in the past few years, that might be one fierce buy signal. In fact, it might already be working. Stocks are up premarket.

Key market gauges

Futures on the Dow US:YMH5 and the S&P US:ESH5 are in the green, following up on a decent day in Asia ADOW, +0.33% . Even Europe SXXP, -0.66% is showing signs of life. Crude CLG25, has moved back above the $48 level, although it still hovers around levels not seen since 2009 in early trade. Gold US:GCG5 isn’t too thrilled by all this stability, however fleeting, as prices are off less than 1%, following three wins in a row.

The quote of the day

“Mr. Market is kind of a drunken psycho. Some days he gets very enthused, some days he gets very depressed. And when he get really enthused... you sell to him, and if he gets depressed, you buy from him. There’s no moral taint attached to that.” — Warren Buffett, in a chat with Quicken Loans.

The economy

The ADP employment report at 8:15 a.m. Eastern will serve as an appetizer for Friday’s jobs report, while the trade-balance numbers for November will be released 15 minutes later. Then, at 2 p.m. Eastern, we’ll get a look at the Federal Open Market Committee minutes from mid-December.

The buzz

Hey, nobody told me J.C. Penney US:JCP is totally hip again. The retailer said sales at its existing stores rose 3.7% over the holiday period from a year ago and should hit the high end of its estimated range for the quarter. That’s enough to push the stock up almost 18% premarket.

Intel INTC, -0.85% joined in all the fun at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday, with its CEO showing off wearable tech, such as a wristband that turns into a self-snapping flying camera. But then he moved onto the thorny issue of adding more women to the company’s workforce, not exactly an Intel strong point. He said the chip maker aims to reach full representation of women and minorities by 2020, according to Reuters. Here’s a deeper look into Intel’s presentation, by way of Mashable.

Keurig Green Mountain US:GMCR could see action after signing a deal with Dr. Pepper for its coming soda machine.

Eli Lilly LLY, +1.11% shares were nudging down premarket after the drug maker said it expects 2014 earnings to lag earlier guidance.

On the earnings front, chip maker Micron’s MU, -0.47% shares are getting bogged down by its results, while fast-food company Sonic US:SONC is feeling the benefit of its better-than-expected report.

The chart of the day

For the fourth quarter, 87 companies in the S&P 500 have issued negative earnings outlooks, while only 21 have raised their guidance, according to FactSet. The first metric is well above the five-year average of 74, while the second is well below the average of 36. So much for all that optimism.

The consumer-discretionary sector is leading the way with 24, and that’s a record, as you can see by this chart. Plus, it’s inexplicably 73% higher than the sector’s average number of warnings. “With the combination of falling oil and gas prices, and stronger U.S. GDP growth in recent quarters, the conditions appeared to be in place in Q4 for more companies in this sector to raise earnings expectations rather than to lower earnings expectations,” FactSet’s John Butters noted.

FactSet

The call of the day

Bill Fleckenstein, president of Fleckenstein Capital, is a card-carrying member of the sky-is-falling crowd. Though he’s had some lean years lately, he does rock some notable feathers in that cap of his. He got fat shorting stocks leading into the dot-com bubble pop, and he closed down his short fund when the QE faucet starting flooding. Of course, he missed out on much of this outrageous bull market but, as he told CNBC in September, “So what?”

He has to be loving 2015 so far, as “the dominos that are going to fall from the oil patch” will spell disaster for the markets. And that brings us to the crux of his latest call, which he made before the market thrashings of the past two sessions. “The dollar DXY, +0.03% is an internet stock that’s on borrowed time. The stock market used to rise, and the value of assets rose because of the underlying economy. Now they are trying to run it in reverse,” he said. “When people realize that it’s all a charade, the dollar will tank, the stock market will tank, and hopefully bond markets will tank.”

Random reads

Madonna and “the double edge of being an unapologetic bitch.”

From poops to delicious water in just five minutes. Bill Gates says so.

That $975 million check? No, thanks. Do better.

Obama focuses on the important things: commiserating with Detroit fans.

Six years later, one of the Internet’s bright-shiniest moments gets new life. When bodybuilders debate the number of days in a week, it’s worth reading again and again.

Now playing in Ireland: the “Sounds of Sodomy.”

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