Everyone wants their piece of the bailout, and now rental giants Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR) and Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) are looking for their cut. The House of Representatives passed a TARP reform bill that allows bailout funds to be used by rental car companies and that bill is now working its way through the Senate.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that "... rental-car companies are struggling to find buyers for their used automobiles -- an important source of revenue -- and secure financing to purchase new ones to replace them."

Yesterday no fewer than 20 companies around the world announced 40,000 layoffs. As I posted, that's the flip side of the great inflation report that came out this week. And those 40,000 are among the first of 2.1 million U.S. jobs that are forecast to disappear in 2009 -- particularly if the $825 billion stimulus plan does not pass.

Here are some of yesterday's cuts from the U.S. companies:

• Circuit City Stores is liquidating and taking 30,000 jobs along for the ride
• Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) is eliminating 4,000 jobs worldwide due to a drop in travel demand.
• WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) the second-largest U.S. health insurer, will end 1,500 jobs, which include 600 workers and 900 open positions.
• Clear Channel (NYSE: CCO) -- the largest U.S. radio broadcaster -- will lay off 1,500 employees on January 20.

Yesterday, several of America's largest and most well-know companies cut people at an alarming rate. The liquidation of Circuit City could put a total of 30,000 employees onto the street. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) cut 2,400 sales people. AMD (NYSE: AMD) cut more than 1,000 people. Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) said it will let 4,000 people go, and Wellpoint (NYSE: WLP) will fire more than 1,000 people.

Bloomberg reported that GE (NYSE: GE) might fire up to 11,000 people in its financial unit.

So, in one day, as many as 60,000 people were out of work. A look at the activity shows why it will be so hard to arrest the drop in jobs. The companies involved in downsizing yesterday range from big pharma to transportation to tech to retail. The 24 hours were, in essence, a cross-section of the entire American economy suffering under the weight of the recession.

Economists say there cannot be a recovery with a reversal of the fall in unemployment. Unfortunately, addressing the cause of joblessness is has moved well beyond saving the retail industry and Detroit. Industry by industry, the entire system has become diseased.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

When I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, I remember watching O.J. Simpson in Hertz (NYSE:HTZ) ads dash through the airport on my television screen as a spunky old woman yelled "go, O.J., go." It seems like these spots were always featured during breaks of favorite ABC TV shows "Charlie's Angels", "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island." I even imitated O.J. when I went to the airport, much to the horror of my parents. I thought that, next to TV private eye Jim Rockford, Simpson was the coolest guy in the world.

Of course, no one realized at the time that Simpson's nice-guy image was an act. When he led police on his infamous low-speed chase through the freeways of Southern California, people saw O.J. running again -- this time from the law, under suspicion for the murder of his wife and waiter Ron Goldman. Again, people thought about Hertz. When he was acquitted, people thought about Hertz. For people my age (40), O.J. and Hertz will be forever linked. That's the power of branding.

About the only thing O.J, is endorsing these days is plastic football helmets and old pictures of himself, which is the root of his current legal troubles in Las Vegas. People are less interested in him in that world. At least one sports memorabilia dealer has his O.J. Simpson-autographed merchandise on sale.

To be fair, Hertz severed its ties to Simpson when allegations of domestic abuse first surfaced in 1992. Since then, advertisers do a much more thorough background check on their celebrities before hiring them to tell us how we should spend our discretionary income. We are a nation of sheep. The problem is that we as Americans continue to look to our celebrities before making important decisions, which is a pity.

Read the entire series

A couple of weeks ago, Carol Vinzant noted that Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) had stopped its practice of gouging customers for gas fill-ups. Rather than charge exorbitant prices for gas, the renter instead chose the market rate, merely tacking on a $7 surcharge for the cost of paying somebody to fill up. While Hertz claimed that this was a voluntary decision, it coincided suspiciously with the Maryland Attorney General's threat to sue large rental firms for their exorbitant gas charges.

Whether Hertz is trying to find ways to offset their gas losses or is just trying to generate a little extra income in what are becoming hard times for the rental industry, their latest revenue stream is pretty smart: they're renting out ad space in their rental fleet. In addition to printing ads on ticket jackets and hang tags, the company is planning to utilize printed trunk liners and will also be offering free samples to customers. This, of course, follows the lead set by some airlines, which have begun plastering ads atop everything that doesn't move.

Hertz is hoping that its advertising strategy will help offset losses that it has incurred as high gas prices have caused customers to cancel trips, severely undercutting the rental industry. These days, anything that helps keep prices down and service up seems like a burst of genius!

Hertz (NYSE:HTZ) has decided to give up on the cash cow of wildly overcharging customers for filling up the tank. Instead of charging $7 a gallon for gas, they'll charge the market price. Oh, don't get me wrong, they'll still charge an outrageous fee for putting gas in the tank when the deal kicks in on July 1. They'll just charge a flat fee of $7 to fill up, plus the market price of gas. What does that translate to in terms of pay, about $100 an hour to pump gas?

I'm pleased that Hertz is getting out of the gas gouging business. Maybe that field has just gotten too competitive lately. It's getting harder to shock Americans with preposterous gas prices. Rental car companies have been charging insane gas rates -- almost what you'd pay in Europe at the pump -- for years. Consumers think of it as their evil little profit center, like phone charges at hotels.

In a story at USAToday, the industry claims that it's only overcharging to scare people into bringing the car back full, so they don't have to hassle with storing the fuel and filling up cars. So why don't they charge that rate for prepaid gas? USAToday did a survey and found that rental car companies sold pre-paid gas at about $4 a gallon, but charged about $8 when someone returned the car less than full.

While Scotts Miracle Gro Co. (NYSE: SMG) Monday blamed a slow start to spring and recalls for a drop in second-quarter profits, Pilgrims Pride Corp. (NYSE: PPC) said its second-quarter loss widened due to rising feed costs and a restructuring charge. And analysts expect lower consumer spending on leisure travel and a drop in business travel to drag on Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR) first-quarter results when it reports on Tuesday.

Discounting charges, Marysville, Ohio-based Scotts reported it made $77.7 million, or $1.19 per share for the quarter ended March 29, two cents better than the forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Revenue fell 4% to $958 million. The company also warned that profits would likely fall below Wall Street forecasts for the year.

Pilgrim's Pride, the nation's largest chicken producer, lost $111.5 million, or $1.67 per share, in the three months ended March 29 compared with a loss of $40.1 million, or 60 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $2.10 billion. Analysts had expected a loss of 81 cents per share on $2.09 billion in sales. The company said feed costs would probably push the company to another loss in the current quarter as well.

Analysts expect Parsippany, New Jersey-based Avis to break even on a per share basis, on $1.37 billion revenue. In last year's first quarter, the company posted profit of 12 cents per share. It's unclear how much of an effect the current economic conditions will have on Avis's full-year 2008 results, but in April, rival Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) managed to post an adjusted quarterly profit that beat Wall Street predictions.

Shares of Scotts ended the day up 1.2%, but fell nearly 12% in after-hours trading to $30.00. Pilgrim's Pride fell less than 1% during the day, then another 1.1% after hours to $23.59. Avis also continued its slide into after-hours trading, down to $13.49.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Yahoo!, Cigna and Aegean Marine were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Buy from Hold as they believe Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is unlikely to walk away from Yahoo! and that there is potential Microsoft could bid $34/share.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Cigna (NYSE: CI) to Outperform from Neutral citing the company's favorable business mix.
  
• Stephens upgraded shares of Aegean Marine (NYSE: ANW) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation as they see an attractive entry point at current levels.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• JMP Securities raised D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) to Strong Buy from Outperform and Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Goldman added Hertz Global (NYSE: HTZ) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) to its Conviction Buy List.

Lots more quarterly reports rolled out this past week, and here are some highlights of earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported more losses and more job cuts.
• Alvarion Ltd.'s (NASDAQ: ALVR) record quarter fuels speculation of a Cisco (NYSE: CSCO) buyout.
• Avon Products Inc.'s (NYSE: AVP) profit rose 61%, buoyed by strength in emerging markets.
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) fell short of expectations due to tighter margins.
• CIGNA Corp. (NYSE: CI) had a solid quarter but warned about 2008 earnings.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) blamed profit loss on materals costs, and announced acquistion of Burt's Bees.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) beat estimates by a penny and had strong sales overseas.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) beat earnings estimates and revised its full-year forecast.
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) announced it would restate revenues, ahead of its November quarterly report.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) missed expectations, also due to tighter margins.
• Given Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIVN) cited FDA approval delays for disappointing results.
• Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) posted record revenues and appointed a new CFO.
• Humana Inc.'s (NYSE: HUM) positive surprise lifted the share price to a new all-time high.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: AVX Corp (AVX), Vishay Intertechnology Inc (VSH), Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) and three car-rental companies were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• American Technology downgraded both AVX Corp (NYSE: AVX) and Vishay Intertechnology Inc (NYSE: VSH) to Sell from Buy after channel checks suggested weaker than expected demand for the June quarter from Europe, EMS, and distribution.

• Sanders Morris believes investors should take profits in Buffalo Wild Wings Inc (NASDAQ: BWLD), cutting shares to Sell from Buy, and sees limited catalysts on the horizon that could drive shares higher.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded car rental companies Avis Budget Group (NYSE: CAR), Dollar Thrifty Automotive (NYSE: DTG) and Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) to Underweight from Equal-Weight to reflect weak Q2 rental prices.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Lehman downgraded Amgen Inc(NASDAQ: AMGN) to EqualWeight from Overweight.

• Caris cut Limited Inc (NYSE: LTD) to Below Average from Average.

• Goldman downgraded Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) to Neutral from Buy.

• Soleil downgraded Cinemark Holdings Inc (NYSE: CNK) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

In late 2005, Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) went private in a $15 billion deal. The company was essentially a spin-off of Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F).

It is also a case study in the lucrative business of private equity.

Hertz's private equity sponsors include: Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch. And they have been cashing out. According to a piece in FT.com, these firms have taken $1.421 billion in dividends.

Now, Hertz has filed for a follow-on offering and may raise as much as $1 billion.

Basically, this is old-fashioned financial engineering – and it has paid off handsomely. Then again, Hertz is a solid company and has growth opportunities.

Even after the offering, the private equity sponsors will still have an equity stake of $3.8 billion.

So far today, Hertz's stock is down $0.08 to $21.17 per share.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

We blogged in November to invest in the Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) IPO and those who suffered through the initial volatility are up close to 20%.

Avis Budget Group (NYSE: CAR) is also a good play on the rental car business. Hertz was acquired by private equity from Ford (NYSE: F) and recently came public. Avis was spun off from Cendant last year. Now the two largest rental car companies are publicly traded.

The mere fact that the two largest players are publicly traded should impose pricing discipline. This should translate into higher earnings and higher stock prices for both players over time.

According to Oscar Schafer in this weekend's Barron's Roundtable (subscription required), he expects the company to earn $3.00 this year. With the stock at $24, that is just 8x earnings.

This stock has rallied a bit most likely on Barron's whispers since the interview was held a few weeks ago and only published this weekend. I'd wait for a little pull back and then jump into this stock.

Yet again, Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc. (NYSE:MER) had a strong quarter, with net income surging 68% to $2.35 billion. There was strength in trading, asset management and of course, investment banking.

But there was another key source of income: investments in buyout deals. And, according to a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal [a paid service], it does pose serious risks.

True, it's lucrative. After all, Merrill also scores big fees on the private equity transactions. Yet, Merrill is making some big bets. For example, it shelled out $1.5 billion for its stake in HCA. This is a hospital chain that must deal with unpredictable government regulations. Also, the deal was done at a fairly high valuation.

So far, though, Merrill's private equity forays have been getting nice returns, especially with the Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ) deal. But there are many things that can go wrong: a botched deal; a credit crunch; a recession; a bear market.

Interestingly enough, back in the early 1990s, Merrill left the buyout business. Yes, it was because of some ill-conceived deals.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Constellation Energy Group (CEG) and Hertz Global Holding (HTZ) were the most notable downgrades this morning.

• Deutsche Bank initiated shares of Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG) with a Buy rating and $78 target; the firm said valuation is compelling as the market has barely priced in the valued of BED, the merchant plants and the PV of the current backlog.

• Wachovia started shares of Hertz Global Holding (NYSE: HTZ) with a Market Perform rating. They see limited upside to shares due to broader economic concerns.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Merrill Lynch initiated shares of Winnebago (NYSE: WGO) with a Neutral rating, saying shares are fairly valued.

• UBS initiated shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) with a Neutral and $26 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Despite a comeback of the IPO market, it was still tough for the Hertz (NYSE:HTZ) offering. Initially, the company tried to price its IPO at $16 to $18 per share. However, it was only able to fetch a final offering price of $15.

The stock has since sputtered -- and this week it broke its offering price, falling to a low of $14.55.

Then again, Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. has become a poster child for the private equity crowd. In other words, the company's investors -- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Carlyle Group -- were able to get a big cash-out, and within about a year.

Private equity investors bought Hertz from its struggling corporate parent, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F). The equity investment was about $2.3 billion, and about $3 billion was borrowed. There was also $10 billion on the balance sheet.

For their efforts, the private equity investors paid themselves a $1 billion dividend -- and then also got an extra $222 million payout because of the IPO.

Keep in mind that when a solid company is spun-off from a lumbering parent it often presents opportunities for public investors. After all, with better focus, there may be improved performance.

But, in the case of Hertz, the private equity investors were able to get a head-start, making it hard for investors to get much benefit going-forward. At least it was a good deal for somebody.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook. He also operates InvestorOffering.com.