As markets around the world put the brakes on a nascent comeback rally after only 3 sessions, legendary chart analyst Louise Yamada says it's a technical mess all over the world. "We are at a critical juncture right now," warns Yamada. Be it the BRICs, other Emerging Markets, or Europe, Yamada says "all of them have come into long-term sell signals" with the exception of Japan, Thailand, Jakarta, and a few U.S. markets.

As if the debt concerns out of Greece, Italy, and France weren't enough, word comes today that the global slowdown is hitting Europe's largest and most stable economy: Germany. The country reported a weaker than expected second-quarter GDP rate of 0.1%, compared to 1.3% in Q1.

"Germany was the strongest market and it had a very severe setback...and went right to the bottom of the 2010 support," says Yamada. "So any further decline there and you bring into question whether the market goes to the 2009 lows."

In the case of the Germany's benchmark DAX (^GDAXI), that would be a fall to about 3600, nearly 40% below current levels. The index has suffered a 16% drop in August alone.

Fast markets are emotional markets. In case you had any doubt on that, I would refer you to the comment section of Breakout stories from last Wednesday when bears ruled the roost, and the comments from yesterday when the dominant theme was the impossibility of "timing the market" (by, say, opining that stocks had hit a near-term bottom at 1,100).

As one who seeks to learn about all investing strategies, even the weird ones, I suggest a truce so that we may take a deep breath and take a fresh look at the market's fundamental and technical field position. The fundies are atypically rather easy: Corporate earnings are quite strong and the macro data is dropping off a cliff.

Now for the technicals.

To help us on the chart-front, Breakout called in Louise Yamada, Director of Louise Yamada Technical Research Advisors. I make no bones about my respect and admiration for Louise. I've followed her work for years and she's made me money. Is she always right? Of course not, nobody is. But she's far better than most and errs on the side of preserving capital rather than trading on hope. Good technicians aren't about catching tops or bottoms, they're about catching the "meat" of a move.

All that said, let's get her opinions:

U.S. Markets as a Whole: Louise says we are "finished with a cyclical bull and entering a cyclical bear." It's not the end of the world, just an end of the uptrend off the 2009 lows. Since January of this year, the market has seen falling volume on rallies. Simply put, longs are nervous and ever less inclined to buy the dips. As we saw when the S&P500 uptrend from 2009 broke definitively around the 1,300 level, followed by support failing at 1,250; nervous bulls sell in a hurry.

The Death Cross & Other Momentum "Tells": A Death Cross occurs when the 50-day moving average (MA) falls beneath the longer term, 200-day MA. This technical indicator is getting a lot of buzz of late, both because it has a very cool name and it's been a relatively reliable indicator of a failing market. The fact of the averages crossing is a function of market momentum failing. Obviously. The Death Cross occurs relatively seldom and can change quickly, Louise notes. A false cross occurred in 2010 but reversed within weeks. On the other hand, the cross in early 2008 was an outstanding exit cue. These are the two most recent Death Cross triggers.