BlackRock Chief: Markets Will Be 'Fine' ... The boss of the world's largest money manager said financial markets will be "fine" over the next year despite a sharp downturn early in 2016 ... BlackRock Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Laurence Fink said in an interview ... that the market is "going through a correction phase and is doing it rapidly." – Wall Street Journal

Dominant Social Theme: It's all good.

Free-Market Analysis: We can see from the above excerpt that Laurence Fink sees the current sell off as simply a cyclical event, the turning of the business cycle. The interview took place a week ago, but doubtless his sentiments remain the same. This is not a man who will change his mind based on serial volatility.

Fink certainly has reason to remain calm when faced with a stormy investment environment. The firm is doing astoundingly well, reporting $54 billion "in long-term net inflows during the December quarter, and 2015 long-term net inflows of $152 billion." How much does the company manage? An almost impossible-to-fathom $4.65 trillion."

Here's more:

"Could we still see further erosion in the near term?" he added, "Sure." But "over a 12-month period I think the markets are going to be fine, probably higher from where they are today."

A key contributor to recent weakness is the behavior of consumers around the world, Mr. Fink said.

Fink is concerned that households aren't spending the money they've saved from lower oil and commodity prices. This lack of spending may be aggravated, he believes, by baby-boomer concerns regarding retirement savings.

"We always knew we were under-saving as a country and we knew it would be a problem in the future." Fink is quoted as asking, "Could the future be today?"

Fink is also concerned about the new Securities and Exchange Commission proposal last year for increased mutual fund liquidity requirements. It would seem that regulators want to ensure that funds have cash on hand for investor withdrawals.

In the article, Fink questions whether the increased liquidity requirements would have a negative impact on funds available for investments. He was not enthusiastic about the tradeoff, but otherwise, Fink is in the optimist's camp at a time when eroding markets are unsettling most, including investment pros.