The stocks, down sharply since September, could fall another 20% as more of the bank's business loans and home mortgages go bad. It holds many risky interest-only mortgages.

Republic has no subprime loan problem and has growing earnings. Yet its shares could fall below the midteens if the government decides to curb tax-refund loans.

Blackstone's stock has plunged to $7.51 since the firm went public at $31 last year. But if the company's assets were marked to market, the stock might go even lower.

Depressed asset managers like T. Rowe Price (TROW) and Franklin Resources (BEN) look more appealing, partly because they value their investments at market prices, giving them greater upside if markets revive.

Depressed asset managers like T. Rowe Price (TROW) and Franklin Resources (BEN) look more appealing, partly because they value their investments at market prices, giving them greater upside if markets revive.

Less appreciated, however, are the company's strengths: Its name-your-own-price business grew 33% and could be a bigger draw in a thriftier era. The company has no debt and earns gobs of cash, including $282 million in free cash flow this year. And a high portion of its costs are variable, which should serve it well in the downturn, says Susquehanna analyst Marianne Wolk. At 55, shares have retreated 61% from a May peak near 140. Today, they trade at 8.8 times 2009 profits -- well below 21 times for Internet retailers and more than 9 times for the travel-and-leisure sector. And in a prolonged downturn, Priceline's value-oriented focus will snag market share and lend it bargaining power with hotels increasingly desperate to fill empty beds.

At a price of 12 and change, down more than 60% this year, Monster is priced for something like very slow extinction. There is nearly $3 a share in net cash, and earnings are on pace for a dollar-plus per share this year, with a forecast of $1.10 for '09. Free cash flow has remained substantial. Profit margins held up well in the latest quarter. Catalysts are absent, though eventually extreme low valuation becomes its own catalyst. The CEO and other brass picked up a decent slug of shares last week for just under 14, for what it's worth.

Research In Motion (RIMM) needs a smash hit in the Bold, especially as sales of its recently released BlackBerry flip-phone have been disappointing. Given RIM's warnings that ramp-up costs for the Bold, the Flip and the forthcoming touch-screen Storm likely will hurt margins for the rest of 2008, and that the financial sector -- a big BlackBerry customer -- has been sagging, it's not surprising Research In Motion's stock is trading around 55, down from a high of 148 in June.