The newspaper hasn't yet posted its searchable, sortable database of financial info for 2008 (you can read 2007's ), but the Merc's reporters have outlined the tumult from last year. In short, 2008 was the worst year since 2001:

* Revenue for the Silicon Valley 150 grew only 5 percent.

* Profits dropped a vertigo-inducing 52 percent.

* companies in the SV150 slid 36 percent in market capitalization. Yahoo's loss was the largest: A 50 percent fall from $38 billion to less than $19 billion.

* makers Hewlett-Packard and Apple grew their revenue, but most computer gear makers struggled. Sun wrote down nearly $1.5 billion and has recently been in talks with IBM over a potential acquisition.