"Rapid, seismic changes in consumer behavior have created the most difficult climate we've ever seen," Chief Executive Brad Anderson said in a statement. "Best Buy simply can't adjust fast enough to maintain our earnings momentum for this year."

But Best Buy's misfortunes may spell opportunity for deal-seeking shoppers, especially during the traditional Black Friday shopping extravaganza on the day after Thanksgiving.

Morningstar analyst Brady Lemos said he expects Best Buy to offer deep discounts on products to try to drive sales and keep customers coming into stores.

"It's big news for consumers," he said. "I think they'll want to sell as much as possible."

Microsoft views Yahoo as its best chance to thwart Google, which has leveraged its leadership in Internet search and advertising to emerge as an increasingly serious threat to the world's largest software maker's persuasive influence on how people interact with computers.

Google already controls nearly 60 percent of the U.S. search market, and has been widening its lead, despite concerted efforts by both second-place Yahoo and third-place Microsoft. By combining, Microsoft and Yahoo would have a 33 percent share of the U.S. search market, according to the latest data from comScore Media Metrix.

By joining forces, Microsoft and Yahoo also would widen their narrowing advantage over Google in providing free e-mail accounts -- a service that helps foster more loyalty with users and create more advertising opportunities.

To some extent, it's a case of one bad Apple (AAPL) spoiling the bunch. Steve Jobs & Co. is seen as the most innovative, growth-producing group in tech. And if the U.S. consumer's economic troubles are starting to rattle mighty Apple, high fliers like Research In Motion (RIMM) and Google (GOOG) might not be immune, either.

Indeed, Apple's holiday performance showed signs that the company's not unstoppable in 2008. In particular, Apple's cautious outlook, weakness in U.S. iPod growth and the unpredictability of iPhone sales left Wall Street's pessimists plenty of reason to doubt. And in this jittery market, those pessimists have a lot of power.

First, a recap of Apple's good news - and there was plenty of it. Apple turned in revenue of $9.6 billion and profit of $1.6 billion for the holiday quarter, blowing past the average analyst estimate. The company shipped a record 2.3 million Intel (INTC)-based Macs during the period, and actually sold as many iPhones as computers. In the process Apple generated $2.7 billion in cash, bringing its war chest to $18.4 billion.

But there was troubling news, too. On the conference call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer admitted that iPod sales merely met the company's expectations, rather than exceeding them. Part of the reason, he said, was that U.S. iPod sales weakened in December - it took overseas sales to make up the difference. "In the U.S., in the gift-buying season, we saw a slightly different curve," he said. "That was made up for in our very, very good growth internationally."

Google, which began trading at $85 in 2004, has the sixth- highest stock price in the U.S. and has surged 27 percent this year. The shares rose $1.84 to $584.39 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market and earlier reached $596.81.

The search engine has taken users from Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corp., pushing sales growth to at least 70 percent in each of the past three years. Google plans to lure more Web surfers and advertisers through the YouTube video site, bought last year, and has introduced software to sell mobile ads.

"Google is still dominating," Piper Jaffray & Co. Web analysts including Gene Munster said in an Oct. 1 report.

Munster, in Minneapolis, rates the stock "outperform" and estimates it will reach $660 within a year as Google parlays its lead in search into other areas of online advertising next year.

Remember a couple years back when some analyst floated the idea that Google could eventually be worth $2,000 a share--and was ridiculed from coast to coast? Well, first it's worth noting that Google is now almost a third of the way there. Second, it's worth noting that $2,000 a share would mean a market cap of about $750 billion, which--given a reasonable time horizon--just isn't that far-fetched.

Why? First, from a macro level, in every technology wave, the market leader usually ends up amassing more power, wealth, and market capitalization than the leaders in the prior wave, often by a startling magnitude. The leaders in the last technology wave included Microsoft and Cisco, both of which peaked around $500 billion in market capitalization...

Nasdaq reached a deal with Borse Dubai that will give Nasdaq control of the OMX stock exchange while giving the Dubai stock exchange a 20% stake in Nasdaq.

Under the deal, Nasdaq sold its 28% stake in the London Stock Exchange to Borse Dubai as well. Nasdaq said the moves "will provide us with a footprint unlike any other exchange."

Meanwhile, Qatar's state investment fund bought a 20% stake in the LSE, possibly presaging a struggle for control of that exchange with the Dubai exchange. Qatar said it wouldn't make a full bid for the LSE but reserves its right to do so..

The auctioneer is up against an Internet icon in the privately held Craigslist. The 21-employee company operates on a shoestring budget, is well-entrenched in every major U.S. city and founder Craig Newmark is beloved by users for his reluctance to commercialize the site.

But eBay enjoys an unusual advantage. For three years, executives at eBay have been allowed to peer deep into Craigslist's operations. Since 2004, the year eBay bought a 25 percent stake in the San Francisco-based Craigslist from a former employee, the auction site has held a seat on the company's board of directors.

Newmark, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar once made up the three-person board. Another eBay representative has replaced Omidyar, according to Durzy.

"We've learned a lot from Craigslist," Durzy said. "We think this market has room for several classified services."

"The stock is obviously anticipating very very strong sales for the iPhone and very good follow-through sales," said Andy Hargreaves of Pacific Crest Securities. "The stock isn't going to be a one-month wonder."

Apple has said it will start selling iPhones in Europe this year and in Asia in 2008, but gave no further details.

European media reports this week have said Apple may be close to deals with carriers in France, Germany and Britain, a three-country strategy that would mimic the launch of its popular iTunes online music store in Europe in 2004.

Apple shares have increased more than 50 percent since the company unveiled in January the cell phone that combines Web browsing with the music and video playing capabilities of its best-selling iPod device.

Terry Semel said, "The Board and I have long talked about the importance of ensuring a smooth succession in Yahoo!'s senior leadership - and more recently, about the need for a leadership team committed to carrying Yahoo! through its multi-year transformation. As we discussed my future goals and plans, I was clear in telling the Board of my desire to take a step back sooner rather than later. I believe Jerry and Sue, with their superb talents and intense dedication to Yahoo! and its people, are the perfect combination to carry us forward. This is the time for new executive leadership, with different skills and strengths, to step in and drive the company to realize its full potential - it is the right thing to do, and the right time is now."

Semel continued, "Jerry and Sue will make an unbeatable team. Jerry has long been recognized as an Internet visionary. His incredible experience and close involvement since founding the company 12 years ago have given him tremendous strategic, technical and industry insight as well as unparalleled knowledge and understanding of Yahoo! and its great potential. We are equally fortunate to have Sue Decker, one of the most talented executives in the industry, as our new President. Sue has played a broad and important role in driving our strategy over the years, and has shown even greater skills and leadership with the success she's had in taking on more operating responsibilities. Both Jerry and Sue have been great partners to me and I am looking forward to collaborating with and supporting them both, as well as the Board, in any way that I can as Chairman. I'm proud of all that we've accomplished over the past six years during this exciting, still early stage of the Internet's development, and my single goal is to ensure that Yahoo! achieves its full potential."

News of the shuttering comes after recent corporate restructuring, and a swirl of rumors in recent weeks about the ailing retailer. One was that CompUSA might get a $400 million-plus infusion from Mr. Carlos Slim, Mexican billionaire chain owner. Another one posited that the retailer might buy, or be bought by, Tiger Direct.

Hammered by competition from Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, and internet retailers, and burdened by over $100 million in unsalesable store inventory, Mr. Slim evidently thinks CompUSA's chances at recovery too narrow.

On Friday, Dec. 15, 2006, shares in Apparel Manufacturing Associates, Inc. (APPM) closed at $.06, with a trading volume of 3,500 shares. After a weekend spam campaign distributed emails proclaiming, "Huge news expected out on APPM, get in before the wire, We're taking it all the way to $1.00," trading volume on Monday, Dec. 18, 2006, hit 484,568 shares with the price spiking to over 19 cents a share. Two days later the price climbed to $.45. By Dec. 27, 2006, the price was back down to $.10 on trading volume of 65,350 shares.

On Dec. 19, 2006, trading in Goldmark Industries, Inc. (GDKI), closed at $.17 on trading volume of 126,286 shares. On Dec. 20, 2006, the spam campaign started, with e-mail proclaiming "GDKI IS MAKING EVERYONE BANK!," and setting a 5-day price target of $2. By Dec. 28, 2006, spam emails boasted of the price spike that had already been achieved -- "$.28 (Up 152% in 2 days!!!)" -- and promised a 5-day price target of $1. That same day, GDKI closed at $.35 on a volume of more than 5 million shares. By January 9, 2007, the closing share price was back down to $.15.

A spam campaign in Healtheuniverse, Inc. (HLUN) stock began on Sept. 4, 2006, with emails incorporating a Healtheuniverse press release proclaiming that HLUN was "focused on being the first to commercialize stem cell applications in the $15 billion worldwide plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery market." On Sept. 7, 2006, HLUN closed at $.12 per share on trading volume of 3,000 shares. The spam campaign accelerated, and HLUN shares spiked to $.22 per share on Sept. 11, 2006, with over 2.2 million shares trading hands. By Sept. 22, 2006, the closing price had dropped back down to $.11.

Zander, speaking to analysts at a meeting in New York, said the move will save the company about $400 million over two years. The cuts from Motorola's workforce of about 70,000 are to be spread across the company globally and completed in the first half of 2007.

The world's No. 2 handset manufacturer also said it will beat Wall Street estimates for 2007 sales by as much as $3 billion, forecasting a full-year total of $46 billion to $49 billion. Analysts had predicted sales of $45.9 billion.

The announcements sent Motorola's stock surging despite a fourth-quarter earnings report that showed profits down 48% from a year earlier on a stumble in operating results from its handset business.

The announcement came after the world's No. 2 handset manufacturer reported that fourth-quarter profit fell 48% despite record sales as operating results stumbled during the key holiday selling season.

So, here's the first of the GameSetWatch 'holiday special' articles, and it's a kinda interesting one. The first thing to note is that it's out of date - it was originally written in January 2005, and never published. And, well, it's an investigative article written by me about Gizmondo, the now-famed Ferrari-crashing, money-squandering handheld company.

But because it goes into unprecedented detail about the financial history of the company, I think it's worth publishing. In fact, it goes into somewhat ridiculous, almost 10,000-word long detail, which is one of the reasons that it was never published. But let's give you some context here - when in Gizmondo's history was this published, and why didn't it make it out at the time?