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The ones who went away
The ones who went away
Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in September, dealing a big blow to Wall Street and investor confidence.
While the market upheaval means next year's Fortune 500 will look very different (goodbye, financial sector), a few names dropped off the stock exchanges altogether. So far this year, two companies were taken private, Performance Food Group and Clear Channel, and eight either went bankrupt or were bought. And these are just the ones whose deals closed; Merrill Lynch, for example, is still on the list because its sale to Bank of America is not yet final.

The loss of the biggest businesses - Lehman Brothers (No. 37) and Countrywide Financial (No. 104) - is still being felt in the housing and financial markets. When it comes to the Fortune 500, the bigger they come, the harder they fall.

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Last updated October 13 2008: 4:43 PM ET
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