IAC just reported Q409 operating loss for the quarter of slightly more than $1 billion, CPC declines of 8-12 percent and a February 2010 expectation of a 50 percent drop in display advertising. With traffic and retention time falling for Ask.com, IAC has partnerships in place or in the works, including powering search for NASCAR. 

The good news: 

* IAC has $1 billion in cash.

* Ask tool bars grew by 35 percent year over year, for a total of 67 million.

* CitySearch’s new CityGrid publisher network now has nearly 100 publishers signed up, wtih dozens more joining. “Relationships with resellers are growing, and we just lanched our second large IYP,” said Tom McInerney, IAC CFO. “Both the ad and publishing side are starting to scale, though it will be a year or two before you really start to see numbers that affect the results. We’re encouraged.”

*Servicemagic revenue was up 51 percent, as a result of both consumer and provider sign-ups. Barry Miller, IAC CEO called Servicemagic “Without peer in terms of delivering high-quality prescreened leads.”

* Match.com realized high single-digit subscription growth over Q408, with a growth as well of revenue.

* News aggregator The Daily Beast, 16 months old, has “had a remarkable introduction in terms of people who look at us and seem to like it,” said IAC CEO Barry Diller.

* The new Electus entertainment studio is now working with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, actors and comedians that created DumbDumb, a comedic commercial business. DumbDumb will rely on IAC’s CollegeHumor.com for Internet production and development. Electus will have first-look rights to DumbDumb content for TV, film and digital. It will also have international distribution rights.

Two curious comments emerged that have us wondering a little. Diller, when asked about any sale of Ask.com, said that IAC was out of the offline marketing business for Ask.com, and that “Ask is not for sale, and I expect that will continue.” When questioned about the Yahoo content collaboration to perhaps include a purchase or merger of Yahoo Personals with Match, was told, “We have nothing to say about Yahoo Personals right now.”

Here’s the earnings release.