Are you swimming in the Dead Pool?

(image from http://www.homeschoolstudentplanner.com/)

...or are you just holding your nose

and hoping you come up OK?

Better look around before you jump in:

15 major US business concerns were put in

a dead pool of sorts for 2009 over at

Seeking Alpha.

Reading a little like a review-Circuit City, Chrysler and Blockbuster-

there were some interesting candidates for the floater crew:

Krispy Kreme-come on, I thought I was throwing them a line

the last time I got on the scale;

Rite Aid-you can't make money selling Viagra

...AND overpriced SoBe energy drinks?

Station Casinos-where DID the money go here?

All of those and the rest on the list deserve the attention they are getting.

And then some.

One stands out: Realogy.

No big secret. The general opinion is they have had

a very, very hard time since last year.

Not to oversimplify, but the obvious question:

With their premier franchises and branding,

it makes you wonder what is going to happen

to those franchises, Brokers and Agents-

and one-in-four homes (or so) bought and sold

Realogy says involved/was touched by a branded affiliate of theirs.

Right now, no one is buying much of anything.

And it is getting harder for Realogy

and a whole lot of other businesses to buy time.

Many of them up to their noses in debt, interest payments

-and a lack of effective consumer engagement.

The ripples in the water have yet to turn into

the froth and confusion of a feeding frenzy.

So, are you treading water in the dead pool,

or are you growing your social networks?

Steve

shsworks@sbcglobal.net