TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp., battered by plunging global sales, reported its worst annual loss since its 1937 founding — and forecast even more red ink in the year ahead.

The world's largest carmaker said yesterday its net loss for the January-March quarter was $7.7 billion, bigger than General Motors reported for the same period. That brings Toyota's fiscal year loss to a larger-than-expected $4.4 billion, a dramatic reversal from the record profit of 1.72 trillion yen it earned the previous year.

With demand contracting sharply in the U.S., Europe and Japan, Toyota is projecting its losses for the fiscal year through March 2010 will grow to $5.55 billion. President Katsuaki Watanabe said the devastating results were caused by "the significant deterioration in vehicle sales, particularly in the U.S. and Europe," the strong yen and the rising cost of raw materials.

CHRYSLER BONDHOLDERS DROP OPPOSITION TO PLAN

NEW YORK — The group of dissident Chrysler bondholders challenging Chrysler LLC's government-backed restructuring plans said yesterday it is dropping its court fight.

The dissolution of the group clears away the largest obstacle standing in the way of Chrysler's plans to sell the bulk of its assets to Italy's Fiat Group SpA and could pave the way for the quick exit from bankruptcy protection that the automaker and the federal government desire.

Geoffrey Gwin, principal of the Group G Capital Partners LLC hedge funds, said after weighing the obstacles ahead , the group's five remaining members realized that they couldn't mount an effective legal challenge.

FANNIE MAE SAYS IT NEEDS $19B FROM GOVERNMENT

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae issued a grave warning about its future yesterday, saying it needs $19 billion in additional government aid as job losses grow and risky loans made during the housing boom go bad at an unnerving pace.

The mortgage finance company, which already got a $15 billion government bailout in March, warned it may need even more money and won't be profitable for the foreseeable future.

In a regulatory filing, the company said "there is significant uncertainty as to our long-term financial sustainability." Even more government aid, it added, "may not be sufficient to keep us in a solvent condition."

Fannie Mae posted a quarterly loss of $23.2 billion, or $4.09 per share. That compares with a loss of $2.5 billion, or $2.57 a share, in the year-ago period. The government, which seized control of Fannie Mae and its sibling Freddie Mac last September, has already spent about $60 billion to prop up the two companies.