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Travel news: Expedia’s fourth quarter operating income was hit by a $3 billion impairment of goodwill and intangible assets.

This was primarily related to a decline in Expedia’s global market capitalisation.

So if you want a good travel deal perhaps its best to avoid Expedia, as the likes of Thomson Thomas Cook Jet2holidays have been steadily increasing their market share.

An operating loss of $2,889.1 million was recorded for the quarter as a result, against a profit of $128.3 million in the same three months of 2007.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $484 million, a decline of seven per cent year-on-year primarily due to decreased revenue, the company said.

The gross profit for 2008 came in at $2.3 billion, an increase of nine per cent over 2007, mainly due to increased revenue, partially offset by a 51 basis point reduction in gross margin to 78.39%.

Chairman and senior executive Barry Diller said: “The story of 2008 – and 2009 for that matter – is clearly the global recession and its impact on nearly every sector of our economy.