Bear markets batter great franchises along with lesser businesses.
Still, those groups, standing alone, could be worth another $4 billion without the distractions of lesser businesses.
Business-to-consumer and, to a lesser degree, business-to-business companies are out of favor, while wireless and optical networking technology are in vogue, said Sasha Talebi, research director of VentureOne, a market research firm in San Francisco.
The buyer at the Time Warner Center was Todd Wagner, the lesser known business partner of Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
Rather than having their assets sold off and closing their doors, as happens to lesser bankrupt businesses in a capitalist economy, "zombie" banks are to be kept alive and open for business at all costs - and the costs are again to be to borne by us.
With that in mind, here are our picks for 2015, which range from FTSE 100 stalwarts to a few lesser known businesses with growth potential.
John F. Welch Jr. may be making much more money from his management blockbuster, "Jack: Straight From the Gut," but thousands of lesser-known business executives are also taking the path of sharing their wisdom with the business world through books.
Even as Ford's new management is tugging at him, it is clear that Mr. Ford has another, though lesser-known, business interest in common with his great-grandfather.
After a history that might have undone lesser family businesses, St. Louis-based Maritz Inc. is taking on "performance improvement" duties for most of the Forbes 500.
