Planet Business

Compiled by Laura Slattery

Quote of the Week . . .

"The level of demand we are facing complicates all of our future business planning. All of that becomes a much tougher exercise until we have supply and demand curves that intersect."

- Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo of America, kindly explains to pestered parents that their failure to obtain a Wii console this Christmas is because of a failure of supply and demand curves to intersect.

The Numbers

80The number of companies that went into liquidation in the final quarter of the year, representing a spike in the number of firms running into trouble at a time when liquidations normally dry up, and signalling a tough 2008 for small firms.

16The percentage of companies that say the credit crunch will have a "substantial" impact on the business, as the cost of wholesale funding and lack of available credit takes its toll, according to the IIB Bank /ICAI winter business sentiment survey.

Good Week . . .

RyanairSome two million passengers are expected to fly with the airline during the holiday season, or as its press release put it: "Ryanair will operate more flights than Rudolph this Christmas." But, to be fair, Rudolph does fly in the fog, give a door-to-door delivery service and make an unlimited number of stopovers.

Match.comThe pay-to-date service is beating off the threat of free social networking sites by joining them. The matchmaker will offer a "Little Black Book" application to Facebookers to help them find potential cyber-partners who might otherwise be scared off by their passion for sheep-throwing, spanking and toilet-papering (all Facebook gestures of affection).

AuctionsThe Savoy hotel in London sold off more than 3,000 pieces of furniture, fittings and artwork from its 118-year history. Sotheby's put a rare 700-year-old copy of the Magna Carta under the hammer for $21.3 million. And, although the banks didn't have to raise their hands in the air, the European Central Bank "auctioned" €350 billion to banks at below-market interest rates.

Bad Week . . .

DebenhamsThe department store chain's share price fell to an all-time low after retail analysts in the UK speculated that it was vulnerable to a consumer downturn. Debenhams is now hoping to lure more shoppers deep into the bowels of its stores through its traditional method - telling them they must make their way immediately to the home department to get their free kitchen knife.

Cadbury SchweppesCompany sales were boosted by the limited edition comeback for the Wispa bar (which came about as the result of a Facebook campaign from nostalgic chocaholics or a staged marketing campaign, depending on your level of cynicism/naivety). But the chocolate conglomerate just isn't making enough money for large shareholder Nelson Peltz, who has written to the board demanding it make more.

Christmas treesThe Danish Christmas Tree Growers' Association just isn't getting into Christmas spirit, having been accused of trying to rig tree prices by competition authorities. Prices of the country's Nordmann firs - known for their soft, long-lasting needles - have risen 25 per cent this year.