This is the greatest economic analysis in the history of mankind (”Rise in Savings Hurting Economy”):

On Friday, the government reported Americans’ savings rate, as a percentage of after-tax incomes, rose to 2.9 percent in the last three months of 2008. That’s up sharply from 1.2 percent in the third quarter and less than 1 percent a year ago. Like a teeter-totter, when the savings rate rises, spending falls. The latter accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity. When consumers refuse to spend, companies cut back, layoffs rise, people pinch pennies even more and the recession deepens.

All you ever needed to know about the current financial crisis in one paragraph. Warning: “paradox of thrift” invoked here.