Consider last year's top five capitalization stocks. ExxonMobil (XOM), a stock everyone says is the most stable in the world, goes from $459 billion to $357 billion.

Microsoft (MSFT) --like Exxon, a company with a fabulous recurring earnings stream -- goes from $264 billion to $160 billion.

Dependable AT&T(T) sheds about $90 billion from $228 billion to $135 billion.

Procter & Gamble (PG), which everyone thinks of as having a bad year, dropped about $50 billon from $204 billion to $150 billion.

But then there's General Electric (GE). It stood at $347 billion last year this week. It is now barely about $100 billion. Terrible, but not when you consider the other financials -- and there is no doubt with that loss that anyone is thinking GE is anything but a financial

Take Bank of America (BAC), which has gone from $197 billion to $24 billion.

Citigroup (C), which has retreated to $13 billion from $125 billion.

And the colossal disappearing act of AIG (AIG), going from $116 billion to $7 billion.