Insightful look at how and why America's auto industry ended up where it is, perilously close to self-destruction, and what can be done to save it.

Merck, Yahoo, General Electric, Xerox, Pratt & Whitney, Goldman Sachs, Whirlpool, Bank of America, Alcoa, Coca-Cola, Detroit automakers & nearly all airlines: these are the companies that are about to cut thousands of jobs. Unemployment 6.1% & rising.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Baucus asked for hard answers about AIG and its free-spending activities and wants a reply by October 23. One of his major questions: "Who can we fire?"

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke says the economic outlook is growing worse. On Wall Street: a 330-point slide in the Dow Jones Industrials. Bank of America lost 18% of its value today. Will a cut in the interest rate stem the flow of red ink?

I'm sure this retreat at the St. Regis Resort Monarch Beach is going to do wonders for our moribund economy. Revealed during a hearing on AIG at a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Sen. Henry Waxman and others blasted AIG.

Despite the Miracle of the Sacred Bailout, the world economy is shattering & sinking. Now the Federal Reserve has a new brainstorm: "Hey kids, let's buy vast amounts of unsecured short-term debt that companies use to finance their day-to-day activities!"

California is apparently in dire straits - so much so that AHnald has sent a letter to Treasury Czar Henry Paulson with feelers for $7 billion dollars from the Feds. Hey, where do we get in line?

""We've been working on this a long time. We've still got more to do to finalize it, but I think we're there. So far, so good," beamed Henry Paulson. Good for whom?

The CEOs of Ford, Chrysler & General Motors met Wednesday afternoon with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The topic on the table? Federal rescue of the ailing automakers in the form of $25 billion in loan guarantees from Uncle Sam. It seems they came away :).

Washington Mutual's shares fell to $2 on the stock market today, down 95% from its 52-week high. If WaMu fails, it would be the largest bank failure in US history. The government is scrambling to find a buyer for the troubled company.