Economic news: could it get any worse?

Sure sounds like it.

A sampling from today's news:

(WP) AIG Has Used Much of Its $123 Billion Bailout Loan. The troubled
insurance giant American International Group already has consumed
three-quarters of a federal $123 billion rescue loan, a little more
than a month after the government stepped in to save the company from
bankruptcy...The news comes as the company's new chief executive
warned Wednesday that the government's financial lifeline may not be
enough to keep AIG afloat.

(NYT) Asian Markets Plummet on Earnings Fears, and Europe Follows.
HONG KONG - Japan and South Korea led Asian stock markets in steep
declines Friday as dismal corporate earnings and economic data
underscored the depth of the challenges facing the export-dependent
economies in the Asia-Pacific region. As the Asian markets closed,
Europe's major exchanges opened with declines of around 5 percent.

(WP) Credit Crisis May Force Metro to Pay Millions. Metro and 30 other
transit agencies across the country may have to pay billions of
dollars to large banks as years-old financing deals unravel,
potentially hurting service for millions of bus and train riders,
transit officials said yesterday...In Metro's case, the regional
transit agency could face up to $400 million in payments, the system's
chief financial officer, Carol Kissal, said in an interview yesterday.
One bank, KBC Group of Belgium, has told Metro that it needs to pay
$43 million by next week. Metro officials confirmed the details but
declined to name the bank.
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