Another sign that the financial crisis is hitting the real economy with reports that one analyst from FBR, Craig Berger, suggesting that Apple could scale back its production of 3G iPhone by as much as 40% in the fourth quarter

Berger puts it down to the weakening economy. Eric Zeman at Information Week says Apple might be pegging production back because of a surplus of iPhones. Simply put, it sold too many.

"At this point, Apple needs only to maintain inventory levels." Zeman writes. "It makes sense, then, that it might ramp down production, lest it flood the market with more iPhones than people are willing to buy."

Still, there are some who question Berger's track record. Examples include Andy Zaky at Seeking Alpha. Zaky cites data showing Berger is consistently wrong and he suggests the analyst should not be trusted.

"His reports have had very little to no predictive value in the past, and they will likely have no predictive qualities in the future."

Still, the forecast if correct is disturbing because it does show that the economic is going deep. And if it's right, it's another sign that there is no quick way out.