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…

Dragged down by plunging gasoline prices and an auto industry struggling for survival, retail sales fell by 1.8% in November for a record fifth straight month, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

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.

As the dollar continues its historic decline, imported goods will become too costly for many Americans.  In addition, more of those products still made domestically will be exported to wealthier foreign consumers whose appreciated currencies increase their purchasing power.