After a two-day “holiday” to start the week–Martin Luther King Day today (Monday) and Inauguration Day tomorrow (Tuesday)–it’ll be back to business on Wednesday as Congress begins to grill U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner – the appointment many observers believe to be the most important of the new Barack Obama administration.

Can you hear that, Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI)? It’s the sound of obsolescence. With the news that LG Electronics will be producing high-definition televisions that will stream movies from Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), you can add another nail in the coffin for Blockbuster.

Investors are breathing a sigh of relief that 2008 is over, but they shouldn’t get too comfortable. After all, with a worldwide recession under way, investors can expect acceleration in corporate bankruptcies in 2009.

But the question is – which ones?

In the financial services sector, 2008 was a year of spectacular failures:

• Bear Stearns Cos. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. were absorbed by JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC), respectively.
• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (OTC: LEHMQ) filed for bankruptcy protection.
• And financial-sector giants American International Group Inc. (AIG) and Citigroup Inc. (C) were both bailed out a vast expense to taxpayers.

If at the start of 2008 I’d written that the entire New York investment banking business would disappear during the…

Retail experts are predicting one of the most dismal holiday shopping seasons in decades this year – a crucial stretch that will set the stage for poor retail sales throughout 2009.

GMAC Files to Become a Bank; Unemployment Nears 26-Year High; Mogul Signals Interest in Circuit City; Banco do Brasil Buying Out Rival; Crude Continues Slide; JPMorgan Cuts 3,000 jobs; Stock Market Craters.

HP Beats 4Q Forecasts; Carrefour Milks New CEO From Nestle; InBev Officially Closes Anheuser Buy; Home Depot Beats 3Q Estimate; Gulf Bank Loses $1.4 Billion; Mexican Tycoon Interested in Circuit City; Wholesale Prices Plummet

Investors are fleeing the stock market as the rules of the game keep changing. But if you know what the next shift will be, you can stay ahead of the curve. Shah Gilani outlines the five coming “aftershocks” of this financial crisis, and what they mean for your portfolio.