To look at it optimistically, it's a period of risk aversion.

Economists, business executives, analysts, and certainly employees are hoping it doesn't become an 'era of risk aversion' - - a longer period where businesses shun expansions and new projects, and investors avoid stocks.

Further, the risk-aversion theme is prompting investors large and small to flock to the 10-year U.S. Treasuries bond, also called 10-year notes, the yield for which was 3.05% on Friday at mid-day. (Bond prices move in the opposite direction of yield. Hence, when demand is strong, such as now, a rise in bond prices pushes their yield lower.)

Moreover the 10-year yield is likely to fall further in the next two quarters, as more investors flock to safe investments amid the U.S. recession, so says economist Richard Felson.

"We're seeing the value of safety come to the forefront. In this climate, investors don't care about yield, their primary concern is capital preservation," Felson said. "And despite the increase in debt the United States is likely to record over the next two years, the lowest risk investment remains U.S. Treasury notes. It's quickly becoming a sort of electronic mattress, the way savers used to store money in mattresses decades ago. Investors are saying, 'Here, take my money and store it until conditions improve.' "