Update: The Treasury Department along with a committee comprised of major GM bondholders reached an agreement that will give creditors a bigger stake in GM than was previously offered as long as they agree not to block the government’s plans for a quick bankruptcy at the beleaguered automaker.
The agreement, revealed in a SEC filing by GM early this morning, would give the bondholders 10% of the company and also give them the right to buy an additional 15% of the company’s stock at a lower price.

Although this new deal is unlikely to allow GM to avoid bankruptcy altogether, it may help clear away obstacles to the government’s plans to use a bankruptcy as a way to turn around the company.

Jim Cramer went up against Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart last night, in an event billed as “Brawl Street: Get ready to buy low. And sell die!”

Watch this historic event:

General Electric had its credit rating downgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s to AA+ from AAA, the Associated Press reported earlier this morning.

S&P’s reasoning on the downgrade is that GE’s finance arm, GE Capital, faces greater losses on real estate loans, and said that if GE Capital were a separate company, it would receive just an A rating.

This bad news comes on the heels of  last week’s announcement that GE would be cutting its dividend by two thirds, a move that would save the company about $9 billion a year.