The casualties were not limited to retail. Travelers also bid adieu to some airlines in 2008 as jet

NEW YORK - Shoppers will not be picking up ornate lamps from the Bombay Co. in the coming year. Or investing with Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. No flying to Hawaii on Aloha Airlines or buying ultra-cheap enterprise rental cars discount tickets on Skybus, either.
All those names vanished this past year, victims of the economy, the financial meltdown enterprise rental cars discount or other factors. Experts say 2009 could mark the end of even more well-known brands as the now-yearlong enterprise rental cars discount recession puts more struggling companies on life support.
enterprise rental cars discount For some companies, 2008 was no beauty. The woes of the nation's retailers began before the year even started. The Bombay Co., known for its home accessories and furnishings, filed for bankruptcy enterprise rental cars discount last fall and closed the last of its stores in January enterprise rental cars discount because of slow sales -- an ailment that hurt other companies as the economic downturn turned into a recession.
The casualties were not limited to retail. Travelers also bid adieu to some airlines in 2008 as jet fuel prices soared and consumer spending on extras like travel plunged. Aloha, ATA, Skybus and Champion Air all grounded their planes.
Bear Stearns was headed enterprise rental cars discount toward collapse in March, awash in massive losses from toxic securities tied to subprime loans, before the government engineered a fire sale of the 85-year-old investment bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co. And the credit crunch that paralyzed the world economy only got worse after Lehman Brothers, a 158-year-old company that helped finance America's railroads, became the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
The ripple effect those two failures had on the economy was evident at malls across the nation. Consumers, already nervous about the falling value of their homes and the security of their jobs, curtailed their spending even more.
With sales and profits dropping this year and lenders leery of granting new credit, a number of retailers failed. Home goods seller Linens 'N Things began liquidating its stores after originally filing enterprise rental cars discount in May for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Apparel chain Steve & Barry's did the same later in the year. Catalog enterprise rental cars discount retailer Lillian Vernon Corp. and specialty retailer Sharper Image Corp. also vanished. KB Toys is in the midst of restructuring its business and is liquidating its more than 400 stores.
The store's faithful shoppers will likely seek out new places that have the brands and prices they want -- or may just stop spending if they do not find a replacement that resonates with them as much, said Rita Rodriguez, chief executive for the U.S. division of The Brand Union, a firm that helps companies create brand identities.
The vanishing acts were not just in the U.S. British enterprise rental cars discount retailer Woolworths Group PLC collapsed late this year after it was unable to sell its 800-store business that was nearly 100 years old. The stores are closing in stages, with the last next week.
Beyond the brand names customers will no longer see, people may find many familiar businesses looking different. Retailers may operate enterprise rental cars discount far fewer stores or only sell their goods online. Banks may become subsidiaries of those that bought them or their names may be joined.
Circuit City Stores Inc., the nation's second-biggest electronics retailer, is closing more than 150 stores and laying off thousands of employees as it keeps operating and attempts to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
After Bear Stearns' collapse, several other financial companies were able to stay alive by becoming subsidiaries of healthier banks. The names of those institutions remain, but are likely to fade away over time. Washington Mutual, for example, was bought by JPMorgan. The new owner plans to rename Washington Mutual's bank branches.
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