"'To say that the funding environment is difficult is a tremendous understatement," said John F. Remondi, chief financial officer for Sallie Mae, to The Washington Post. "'Market conditions have made the issuance of even government guarantee, student loan asset-backed securities a massive challenge.' The Federal Reserve has its beige book, a periodic report on the state of the economy based on interviews with business leaders across the country. We can call on The Post 200, our annual list of Greater Washington's largest companies and organizations. Many of the public companies on the list have offered their assessments of the economy in recent weeks. What follows are excerpts from their remarks to analysts during conference calls on their financial results."