For tech companies, years of easy money yield to hard times

Eighteen months ago, online used-car retailer Carvana had such great prospects that it was worth $80 billion. Now, it is valued at less than $1.5 billion, a 98% plunge, and is struggling to survive.

Many other tech companies are also seeing their fortunes reverse and their dreams dim. They are shedding employees, cutting back, watching their financial valuations shrivel – even as the larger economy chugs along with a low unemployment rate and a 3.2% annualized growth rate in the third quarter.