This is disturbing...

[Big Media]

I will take this with a grain or two of salt but this may be the most ominous sign that the economy is not expected to get better anytime soon.

Wait until you see some of the companies on this list.

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15 Companies That Might Not Survive 2009

* Rick Newman
* Friday February 6, 2009, 11:53 am EST


Who's next?

With consumers shutting their wallets and corporate revenues plunging, the business landscape may start to resemble a graveyard in 2009. Household names like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things have already perished. And chances are, those bankruptcies were just an early warning sign of a much broader epidemic.

Moody's Investors Service, for instance, predicts that the default rate on corporate bonds - which foretells bankruptcies - will be three times higher in 2009 than in 2008, and 15 times higher than in 2007. That could equate to 25 significant bankruptcies per month.

We examined ratings from Moody's and data from other sources to develop a short list of potential victims that ought to be familiar to most consumers. Many of these firms are in industries directly hit by the slowdown in consumer spending, such as retail, automotive, housing and entertainment.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/15-Compan ... 79875.html

[AmpedNow]

While the real estate price drops and home foreclosures are beginning to level off, but still far from stable, the second wave is getting ready to hit: commercial real estate.

The things those companies all have in common are either 1.) stiff competition from others in the same field, like Rite Aid, or 2.) Dependent upon people's disposable income, like Sirius XM. Companies like Rite Aid that were already in trouble before the economic downturn probably won't survive in their current forms. Companies like Chrysler and Sirius XM will likely be bought out or taken over by larger entities. There was actually a story last week about Echostar buying up SIRI stocks like crazy, so it may already be happening to them.

When all of these stores start closing, not only will the unemployment rate increase, but commercial real estate prices will plummet because of all of these empty buildings sitting around. Strip mall developers will be hurting soon...

Also, if Rite Aid and Blockbuster begin closing stores, small town WV will really feel the pinch. So far, the state has been fairly insulated from the bloodbath going on elsewhere.

I never thought I would say this, but, it could be worse... We could be living in California, where the state is flat broke, average home prices have lost over 50% of their value in one year, and the unemployment rate is over 10% and climbing, with no end in sight...