It became true today: G.M., the largest auto maker for 77 years (until 2008), filed for bankruptcy.  As the Washington Post put it this morning: the bankruptcy filing puts an end to the company's financial independence.  In exchange for that G.M. will receive $50 billion in aid from the government. Meanwhile in Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner addressed a very skeptical audience of students of the prestigious Peking University with assurances that the U.S. government will be able to reduce the size of its deficit current wave of bailout funds on the Uncle Sam's balance sheet notwithstanding. The Dow shot up 192 points at opening today.  Institute for Supply Management's factory index released today shows that manufacturing activity picked up a bit in May.