What's going on?

On Tuesday, calamitous British carmaker Aston Martin again warned investors its profit would be lower than expected � and its high-speed hijinks hatched havoc for its stock, which sank by a scandalous 16%.

What does this mean?

Aston Martin hit a speed bump back in June when it announced its profit margin would be just 20% � much lower than it�d promised. But now the wheels have completely come off. Aston Martin�s 2019 profit margin will be just 13% due to higher marketing costs than hoped, fewer sales at lower prices than expected (it�s not alone), and a stronger British pound that�s reducing the value of its foreign earnings (tweet this).

Investors might also be worried by Aston Martin�s plans to use $100 million of high-interest debt to shore up its coffers, adding to the $150 million it borrowed back in September. If the carmaker struggles to repay the interest, bankruptcy might not be far behind�

Why should I care?

For markets: Debt�s cool again.
Aston Martin isn�t special: a few companies have rushed to sell European bonds this year, with almost $20 billion worth hawked so far. They might be looking to take advantage of the region�s cheap borrowing costs compared to the US, which could explain the decision from America�s General Mills this week to issue European debt. The same thought apparently hasn�t occurred to Boeing: the aircraft carrier�s reportedly considering issuing more US debt to help tide over the longer-than-expected delays to its 737 MAX production.

The bigger picture: General Moan-tors.
Tesla�s stock rose on Tuesday after the company teased � well, stripteased � the first deliveries from its new Chinese plant. Competition in the world�s largest auto market is hotting up, and rival General Motors has noticed: it announced on Tuesday its Chinese sales will be weak this year. Maybe the connected vehicle software US companies have been flaunting at CES � software that aims to use data to give carmakers an edge � will come in handy�