Somehow, I happened on the blog of Michael "Mish" Shedlock - everything must be taken with a grain of salt, of course, but I think a lot of his analysis is spot on. I've also started following some articles on http://seekingalpha.com/ as I try to make sense of the current investment climate.
Being in the middle-class, capital preservation is very important in volatile times - otherwise there will be nothing to invest when the market rebounds.
Mish often talks of deflation and an "L"-shaped recession (or depression). Him and others (i.e. this article) has me very nervous... are we screwed?
This above picture linked from here.