Miles you might well be right about things getting worse before they get better. That in and of itself doesn't make this a bad time to invest though. Right now things are rally low. They may get lower still, but the losses won't be nearly as big as in the last year I don't think. The problem is that it is very difficult to time the upswing. and it is also different to tell if an upswing is long term or just a blip. If you wait until it is proven to be a recovery, then by that time stocls will have climbed quite a bit, and you will miss out on some potential profits.