Bears Roar Into Finish; Dow Closes Below 8000

As General Motors continued to scrape for cash, German solar firm SolarWorld announced plans to buy assets of GM's German segment, Adam Opel.

The U.S. auto companies weren't the only ones coping with a tough market. Toyota (TM Quote) said it will cut production in North American plants and lay off 250 of its temporary workers. Shares slipped 5.5% to $59.76.

Boeing (BA Quote), which along with GM is a Dow component, is resetting its production schedule as it attempts to recover from a strike by its machinists' union, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Boeing shed 5.3% to $37.48.

Meanwhile, industrial conglomerate and fellow Dow company General Electric (GE Quote) said it would restructure its GE Capital finance branch to cut costs. Shares tumbled 10% to $14.45.

Elsewhere, government-controlled mortgage firm Fannie Mae (FNM Quote) received notice from the New York Stock Exchange that it faces delisting if it can't keep its share price above $1. The stock dropped 19% to 38 cents.

Staying with the financials, Citigroup (C Quote) said it would buy $17.4 billion in assets held by structured-investment vehicles, funds that issue short-term debt to make long-term loans at higher debt. Such funds have been significantly hampered by the credit crunch. The stock got crushed, falling 23% to $6.40, falling below $7 for the first time in 13 years.