Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) fell 12% today amid the overall market decline.

So what: Not only is the overall market down substantially today, but coal miners are down significantly as economic concerns worry investors. There's also been a slight decrease in European coal prices and a massive outflow of 10.5% of shares from the Global Coal Portfolio ETF over the past week.

Now what: Put all of that together and Patriot Coal is sliding along with coal giants Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) and Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI). All three are near 52-week lows and have been crushed over the past few weeks as fears of an economic slowdown spread through the market. I would be leery about jumping into coal stocks here because a slow global economy and a rising preference for alternatives to coal power mean rough roads ahead for these companies.

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