President Akio Toyoda apologized for the company’s growing recall crisis.

Toyota had already recalled more than eight million cars worldwide over concerns about accelerator pedals. And then along came another little problem – the US Transportation Department started investigating braking problems in the 2010 Toyota Prius after Toyota admitted issues with the model.

And it seems nothing can stop the company’s current charge downhill…

Although Toyota lifted its 2009 forecast from a loss to a £550m profit, this has done little to halt the slide in shareholder value – the company has lost almost $34 billion in market value in the past two weeks and today had its “AA” debt rating put under review by Standard & Poor’s. (Bloomberg)