The 2007-2008 crash is the fastest ever
Since the top of October 2007, the Dow Jones is down by roughly 50%, which makes this crash the 4th in magnitude since 1900, but it happened in a much shorter period than the other ones. This is why I beleive that the Market has anticipated most of the economical slowdown. The economy is likely to get worse continuously in the next 2-3 years (the result of real-estate and credit crisis), but the stock market will follow a different cycle. As it has anticipated faster than usual the slowdown, it will also pick up the recovery faster. And boy, you don't want to miss that! However, such a rally can only be triggered by hard proof of things getting less worse, so in the meantime, we'll live in a time of high volatility and uncertainty, which will provide opportunities for short-term and active traders.