The stock market is down, Housing is down. David Rosenberg, chief economist at Merrill Lynch, offers up this assessment:

With rebate check delivery winding down, there is now little shielding the consumer from the full force of $4+ gasoline, deflating real estate and equity markets and rising unemployment. The new reality means a deeper downturn for consumers, higher headline inflation, more belt-tightening from businesses and a mammoth profit squeeze. It also keeps the odds squarely in favor of more rate cuts from the Fed, in our view.