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Playboy Enterprises Inc

Playboy posted a 2008 fourth-quarter loss of $145 million, with revenue dropping almost 20%. The company cut 14 percent of its workforce in 2008.

Should we expect to see less jerking off in 2009? Will the down turn cause a turn down?

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• MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29261103/
• Playboy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playboy

Goodyear

Goodyear, the American tyre and rubber company announced a 2008 fourth-quarter loss of $330 million. Car sales are down, costs of their raw materials are up. They've made thousands of their staff redundant, with more redundancies to come.

Do you think they'll make it through 2009?

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• Times Online: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/industrials/article5762104.ece
• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodyear_Tire_and_Rubber_Company

Friends Reunited

Friends Reunited is now apparently worth maybe 10% of what ITV paid for it in 2005 and it's up for sale. Its unique user count is down by 60% over the last 3 years. Think ITV will find a buyer? Think a buyer can keep it afloat?

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• The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/16/friends-reunited-worth-20m
• Friends Reunited: http://www.friendsreunited.co.uk/

MapQuest

MapQuest's visits are declining at about the same rate as Google Maps visitors are increasing. Down from about 50% "market share" last year to 39% this month. Think it'll last?

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• Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/mapquest-a-symbol-of-everything-thats-gone-wrong-2009-2

British Home Stores

British Home Stores or Bhs is a stalwart department store of the British High Street, selling clothing and household items. The company has over 180 stores throughout the United Kingdom. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but is now owned by Sir Philip Green.

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• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhs

blip.fm

"As he winds down Fuzz.com, Mr. Yasuda has cut his staff to four people from 12. He still has some money from investors and is working with his remaining staff to preserve a service called Blip.fm, which lets users share short messages about music."

Fuzz.com is shutting down today apparently and it's the same team that produce blip.fm. Is Blip next?

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• WSJ: More Tech Start-Ups Call It Quits : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123439862101275191.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_marketplace