Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, was downgraded to ``sell'' by Merrill Lynch & Co., which indicated a possibility of bankruptcy if the company cannot get access to short-term financing. With carnage still permeating in the home loan markets, many mortgage lenders are not expected to survive.

What goes around comes around

Countrywide is tapping into their entire line of credit. They might just pull it off.