Pathetic GE: Blame Bear Stearns For Our Mess

Silicon Alley Insider:

Good news for NBC U: they're not GE's (GE) only problem anymore. Bad news for GE: CEO Jeff Immelt suddenly sounded like the just another American CEO, blaming everything but himself GE for the blown quarter.

Specifically, Jeff blamed the collapse of Bear Stearns (BSC) in mid-March and an "unprecedented" financial environment that followed for a 5.8% drop in net income at GE and sharply reduced guidance for the year. Of course, it was impossible to have seen any of this coming two weeks before the end of the quarter when Jeff did a global webcast bragging about how great everything was. Never mind that the credit crunch started last summer.

The "markets" obviously weren't GE's only problem. NBC U also missed profit and revenue targets, but was only one of two divisions to show any profit growth and even with 3% growth did a lot betten than most GE units, including Healthcare (down 17%), Commercial Finance (down 20%), GE Money (down 19%), and Industrial (down 16%).

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