Cadillacs. Credit. Canaries. Coalmines.

Bloomberg: General Motors Corp.'s borrowing costs rose to the highest in almost two years after the world's largest carmaker lost financial support from General Electric Co [Tuesday]...

GM, the world's third-largest corporate borrower with $114.5 billion of bond, on March 16 forecast its biggest quarterly loss since 1992, prompting Standard & Poor's to say it may lower the automaker's credit rating to below investment grade. GE, the world's No. 2 company by market value, yesterday cut short an agreement giving the carmaker's suppliers faster payment.

"The last thing you want to see is a liquidity provider pulling its support,'' Christophe Boulanger, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Paris.

GE said it planned to stop funding a program that pays GM's parts suppliers within a few business days, rather than the 45 days GM typically takes to pay them. GE, which administered the program for GM, will stop funding at the end of June instead of providing support until the end of this year, GM spokesman Tom Hill said yesterday...

Fitch Ratings cut the carmakers' ratings to BBB-, one step short of high-risk, or junk, level, following GM's March 16 announcement. Moody's Investors Service also said it may cut GM's Baa2 rating to Baa3, one step short of junk.

Got a phone call a month or so back from our friendly local Chevy/GMC dealer. They wanted to know if I would come in and look at the new models and--Yay!--they'd even let me terminate early the July lease on this, our 3rd 1500-body SUV. (Yeah, I'm a neanderthal with swimmers, gear, trips and animal.) I laughed. Really hard. And said I would see them at the regular lease expiration. For the last time. Finally, it seems, their bonds match the fit and finish of the vehicles. Good luck, Bob Lutz.