The Dow ended up again on Friday, the first time it's been up for two days in a row in the month of October. CNNMoney headlined their story Strong End to a Brutal Month, leading with: "Stocks rallied Friday, capping off a strong week at the end of one of the worst months in Wall Street history." The Dow began October at 10,831 and ended at 9325, according to CNN.

Says CNBC: "In point terms, the 1525.65 the Dow lost was the biggest monthly decline on record." In CNBC's other comparisons, it's the worst single month since August 1998 and the worst October since the crash of 1987.

Analysts say the markets appear to have "priced in" a recession at this point, but it remains to be seen how they will respond to the elections (a bounce is possible) and the continuing stream of economic news, such as bank failures.