We started out with aid to banks, of course that's now spread to the auto industry, and just this week we're finding out that the GMAC, this giant company that provides auto loans, is also getting help.

NPR: Economy Is Not Off Life-Support Yet

Companies like Rhapsody and Spotify have helped spread the peer to peer sharing model while slowing down illegal downloads by now offering the music industry a portion of the ad revenue they generate.

FORBES: Music To Our Ears

The sheer rapidity of the spread of mobile phones would be enough to explain why wireless is the most exciting area of the telecommunications industry.

ECONOMIST: A Survey of Telecommunications: The world in your pocket | The

The health insurance industry operates on the spread between what it charges the consumer and what it allows providers to spend.

FORBES: Why Spend $900 Billion On Health Insurance?

And this tends to spread across most of the candidates, lawyers and entertainment industry people, not surprisingly, lean toward Democrats.

NPR: Three Sectors Dominate Campaign Bundling

With unsold inventory piling up throughout the technology industry, price-cutting looks likely to spread.

ECONOMIST: An old-fashioned price war | The

The pain was spread across almost every industry, with software being one of only two industries of the 17 tracked to experience growth in 2012 (albeit the largest industry receiving 31% of venture financing).

FORBES: Crowdfunding Won't Solve The Venture Capital Series A Crunch

And industry observers such as Ameet Shah of PRTM, a consultancy, expect consolidation to spread the burden, either through sharing of networks or outright mergers, as Orange and T-Mobile plan in Britain.

ECONOMIST: Saturated mobile networks