The US Credit Crunch may claim another victim...

It's been hard to miss in the news. Nearly every newspaper, blog, newscast, and magazine has covered it at one point or another: the US credit crunch.

While economists are still unsure if the market is in full recession mode or not, anyone living in North America (if not many parts of the world) have dealt with the repercussions of the credit problems the US has been facing.

In order to grow the business (or stay afloat) many companies use borrowed funds (or leverage) to meet their financial needs. Borders is no exception. The company has been on the forefront of the manga movement in book stores, offering one of the most diverse selections of graphic novels in store in relation to it's peers.

Borders (NYSE:BGP) realized a nearly 29% loss in share price today upon announcing that it would be suspending it's dividend and would be looking for alternative financing options. Borders CEO George Jones noted that "the current credit environment has made many of these alternatives prohibitively expensive or entirely unavailable."

Investors can expect an announcement within the next two weeks if Borders can find successful financing.

There is a Canadian twist: rumor has it that Canadian retailer Indigo Books (TSE:IDG) may be interested in purchasing the floundering company. While this is only speculation at the moment, it could be a great opportunity for the Canadian bookseller to expand into the US markets.