Not that I am a fan of GM, but I do agree that they are held to a different standard than other companies right now. Why is so much attention is paid to their losses while other large losses are ignored? AIG and housing represent equally terrible corporate management.

General Motors Corp. had a net loss of $9.6 billion in the fourth quarter and a full-year 2008 loss of $30.9 billion including special items.

GM reported Thursday that fourth-quarter revenue was $30.8 billion, down from $46.8 billion, a year earlier. Total revenue in 2008 was $149 billion, compared with $180 billion in 2007. GM’s core automotive business generated revenue of $148 billion in 2008, down from $178 billion in 2007.

GM losses are front page news but in the middle of the paper, one finds announcements about Fannie and Freddie.

Fannie late Thursday reported a $25.2 billion loss for the fourth quarter, and Freddie is expected to report a huge loss for the latest quarter when it posts earnings, probably in early March. Homeowner defaults have continued to increase even as the government has redirected the two companies to focus their attention on preventing foreclosures and propping up the housing market. Gone are worries about pleasing shareholders, whose stock has crashed to about 50 cents a share at both firms.

Fannie's loss was caused by mortgage defaults and drops in the value of derivative contracts used to hedge against interest-rate risks. For the full year, Fannie had a loss of $58.7 billion, compared with a year-earlier loss of $2.1 billion. The loss for 2008 exceeds net income for the preceding 17 years.

AIG's losses were at least more public as they brought the entire stock market down after posting the biggest lose in history. Setting records is a good reason to pay performance bonus'! What a mess.

The crisis-stricken insurance company AIG has crashed $61.7bn into the red with the biggest corporate loss in US history after being crippled by policies protecting troubled banks against default on loans and derivatives.

In a renewed effort to prevent AIG from collapsing, the US government yesterday provided it with access to $30bn of emergency aid. This takes the amount of taxpayers' funds advanced to AIG to more than $150bn.

At least GM was trying to produce a tangible product with real-world value. AIG and the Mae's basically produce paper... Apparently only paper with red ink.