-Think blowing through $500 million in capital would take effort? No so for "virtual network operator" Helio, who whipped through a cool half billion in two years without much to show for it (except a cool logo). Today Virgin Mobile announced that they plan to bail out the company for $39 million in equity and costs.

-In the least surprising news of the week, Continental Airlines and American Airlines announced more cuts. Houston-based Continental says they're grounding 67 jets, reducing flights, and laying off 3,000 employees. American intends to cut 8% of their management positions and support jobs.

-Further confirmation that newspapers are dying: The McClatchy Co., a newspaper publisher in Miami, Sacramento, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Charlotte, and Raleigh, announced its plans to slash its total workforce by 10% this week. They say the economic downturn and the continued drop (a euphemism for the bottom dropping out) in newspaper classified advertising precipitated the cuts.

-Brunswick, best known [by most] for making bowling pins, announced today that plan to substantially reduce the size of its operations. They say they'll cut their fixed cost structure by $300 million by shutting down four plants and axing 2,700 jobs. In addition to bowling goods, Brunswick also makes boats, which has increasingly become an albatross for the company as retail sales of boats continue to decline.