G.M. On the Brink?

The federal government can claim a new dependent: Having already once extended emergency loans to General Motors, the auto company cannot survive without more, according to the Financial Times. G.M. lost $9.6 billion in the fourth quarter and $30.9 billion total last year. Also in the past year, its pension fund swung from a $20 billion surplus to a $12.4 billion deficit. “The company will survive only as a result of actions of the U.S. government,” one consultant tells The New York Times.