Really? "A very nasty period is soon to be upon us - be prepared," said Bob Janjuah, the bank's credit strategist. The guy is an investment banker. He is plac

Really? "A very nasty period is soon to be upon us - be prepared," said Bob Janjuah, the bank's credit strategist. The guy is an investment banker. He is placing directional exposure to the downside of the market. He has plenty to gain from it (as do I). Reports by analysts are by no means a public service. And your original question ("What should normal people do"): you can reduce your market exposure by reducing your directional bias (delta) against your market weighted (beta) portfolio. So buy puts, sell calls, sell OTM credit spreads, buy {SDS, QID, GLD, DUG, DXD} or something like that.