How's this for a weekend conference: Some of the smartest people in the world are gathering in New York to try to figure out how to build lifelike copies of humans ... to be eventually uploaded with the contents of a real human brain.

It's the brainchild of a Russian multimillionaire, Dmitry Itskov. ... And he says he's perfectly serious, and that it could be accomplished by 2035.

Crazy? The New York Times gave Itskov a front-page profile on its Sunday Business page a week and a half ago.

Imagine this ... a digital copy of your brain in a different life form that could live for hundreds of years and be replaced.

(Read More: Russian Tycoon Aims to Make Immortality a Reality Using Robots)

There are several stages to his proposal, including an early stage (Avatar A) where lifelike avatars (androids) are created, but without an actual brain in them. Instead, you would be able to mentally "occupy" the avatar and would have the same sensations.

If you have ever seen the 2009 movie "Surrogates" with Bruce Willis, this is the first stage. Willis remotely moves around an android that is an optimized version of himself. He is in a darkened room and has a live telepresence of that avatar, including all senses.

Dmitry says that we could have the first phase—that will enable people to operate a nonbiological body—in the next seven years. And he believes that the concept can be proved viable in the next three years. He is talking about an artificial body with sensations—the sensation that you would be walking in the body.

The next phase (Avatar B) is brain transplantation. Instead of your dying, neurosurgeons isolate the brain and some of the spinal chord, put it in a life support system, and that is inserted into the android developed in Avatar A. The timetable: 2020-25.

In the next phase (Avatar C), you make the brain non-biological by uploading it into a computer. The timetable: 2030-35.

Sounds crazy? One of the speakers, Theodore Berger, will show how he has already replaced the hippocampus—the part of the brain most heavily associated with memory—of a rat with a computer chip. Berger has shown that rats so implanted can have a memory without the original biological component.

Despite the market turmoil of the last couple weeks, stock mutual funds have recorded their 23rd straight week of inflows, according to Lipper. International funds--particularly ETF international funds--have seen outflows, due to an exodus of money from emerging markets.

One of the biggest names in market indexes just dropped a bit of a bombshell: according to them, Greece is now an emerging market country!

There's plenty of worries about capital outflows from emerging markets, but here's a curve ball: last night MSCI, the leader in stock indexes, announced that Greece will now be designated an "emerging market."

It's not complicated: the market is trying to figure out the right level for interest rates now that it appears there will be less central bank support in the future.

This choppiness is causing a real problem for active investors--they keep getting their heads--and other body parts--chopped off in the whipsaw action.

"I keep trying to short the market, and they keep jamming it up my a--," one disgusted trader said.

Don't kid yourself: there is far more damage to the market than the Dow Industrial Average indicates. I see about 2,500 stocks down, 500 up--a 5 to 1 declining/advancing ratio.

The problem is that the global economic recovery is very fragile, and it cannot withstand a sudden dramatic move up in interest rates. Even the relatively modest moves up in interest rates in the past few weeks have caused a flutter in global markets.

More and more, Bernanke's May 22nd testimony in front of Congress, where he discussed the possibility the Fed may taper bond purchases some time in the next few meetings--and the release of the FOMC minutes that day--has become at least a short-term "inflection point" for the market.

Specifically, an inflection point for interest rates: yields on the 10-Year Treasury have risen from roughly 1.9 percent to 2.2 percent in those three weeks. That day, the S&P 500 hit a historic high, and while it is off those highs bond funds have suffered considerable more damage since May 22:

• S&P 500: -2.5%
• High-Yield Bonds: -4.4%
• Long-Term Treasuries: -4.3%
• Corporate Bonds: -3.9%

These higher interest rates are a particular problem for emerging markets, since they crimp investment and cause some "flight to quality."

I know the world is focused on the turmoil in Turkey, but other emerging markets have also dropped as interest rates have risen.

Emerging markets since May 22...

• Turkey: -21.4%
• Philippines: -17.4%
• Thailand: -17.1%
• India: -11.2%

Japan is still influencing the U.S. After months of weakening, the Yen has strengthened against the U.S. Dollar since May 22, and it did so again midday, causing our markets to take another leg down.

Since May 22, the Yen has strengthened about eight percent against the U.S. Dollar.

That doesn't fully describe what is going on: it's the leverage that matters. The Yen trade has HUGE leverage in it, so when this trade unwinds--as it is doing to an extent now--it affects a lot of other areas of the market as traders cover positions.

At least there was a likely headline for today's rally in the Yen: traders cited the "Nikkei News" reporting that Japanese authorities plan to adopt a bail-in policy for failing banks, to force losses on investors if necessary.

The Great Rotation may not yet consist of a mass rush out of bonds, but wait until investors see their quarterly statements.

It's another morning of rising rates, following on yesterday's jump. It would help the markets to see some stability.

Higher interest rates on top of a very fragile global recovery is a recipe for falling back into no-growth.

U.S. stocks popped at the market open, on word that Standard & Poor's affirmed the United States' debt ratings, and revised its outlook to "stable" from "negative" on receding credit risks.

This is an important development. We spent the whole summer of 2011 in turmoil when S&P lowered its outlook. If you thought the downgrade was a big deal, the reverse has to be as well.

At 175,000, May nonfarm payrolls were slightly above expectations of 169,000, and private payrolls were decent at 179,000. A decent report, certainly — yet the prior month's figures were revised downward by 19,000.

This seems consistent with a modestly improving jobs outlook: stocks rose at the open, while bond yields moved up.

Bottom line: this is just strong enough for Federal Reserve officials to continue their talk of tapering of bond purchases.

Traders confused: is the job market improving, or not?

Markets were volatile again today, this time on signs that the jobs market may not be as strong as some hoped. A report on private sector employment by ADP was weaker than expected, as was an employment gauge released as part of a survey of purchasing managers in the services industry.

That is causing some to consider lowering their estimates for Friday's critical May jobs report.

This is confusing, because Fed officials have been talking about tapering their purchases of bonds as the job market improves.

We've had Federal Reserve officials say it's time to consider tapering bond purchases, but we haven't —at least not in my memory — had a Federal Reserve official declaring a rally of anything "over."

Until now.

Another day, another 204-point swing in the Dow. Notice how more volatile the market has become? It's been two weeks since the Fed minutes were released, which revealed a lively discussion on when to taper bond purchases.

The S&P 500 hit an historic intraday high that morning (1687.18), and by the end of the day we were all actively debating whether it was some kind of inflection point in the market.

We don't know if it was an inflection point long term, but short term that has certainly proved to be the case.

That day was the top of the market, so far.

(Read More: Why Bad News Soon May Just Become ... Bad News)

Since then, the S&P is 3.4 percent off its highs, and the Volatility Index (VIX) has gone from 13.05 (the May 22 intraday low) to 16.78—a 28 percent gain.

And interest-rate-sensitive sectors have been hit hard, with the Dow Utilities down 7.1 percent and the price of 10-year Treasurys down 2.1 percent.

Elsewhere, another REIT specializing in single-family houses goes public tonight. Colony American Homes (CAHS), which lease and manages such houses, is seeking to sell 20 million shares at $11.50 to $13.00.

As of April 30, Colony's portfolio consisted of 8,764 wholly owned homes and 1,167 owned in a joint venture, mainly in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Texas.

The market has not embraced companies buying and managing blocks of single-family housing. Silver Bay Realty (SBY) went public in December priced at $18.50 and is now $17.86; American Residential (ARPI) was $21 in May and is now $19.20.