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One, and maybe the only, of the recent benefits of the FASB's meager attempts at providing balance sheet transparency has been the requirement for banks and financial companies to disclose the difference between the Fair Market Value and the Carrying (Book) value of their assets, especially as pertains to loans held on the balance sheet. And while even the FMV calculation leaves much to be desired, it does demonstrate which companies take abnormal liberties with their balance sheets, instead of performing needed asset write-downs as more and more loans turn toxic. A good example of just such optimism appears when...

Super Hornet favourite in Indian and Brazilian tenders By Reuben F Johnson The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is well placed to fulfil both the Indian and Brazilian fighter requirements, the company and its industry partners said on 28 October. Boeing and its Team Super Hornet partners – Raytheon and General Electric (GE) – presented a broad-ranging review of the F/A-18E/F's position in both the Indian Air Force's (IAF's) Medium-Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) programme for 163 aircraft plus 63 options and the Brazilian Air Force's F-X2 tender for the first 36 of what is projected to be a total of 120...

I voted for Barack Obama. I never watch FOX News. I am not a raging conservative. And I think Keith Olbermann is hurting America. An uncompromising megaphone of partisan rancor, Olbermann perpetuates the single-mindedness and inflexible partisanship that now roil the country, both on and off Capitol Hill. His rants against former President Bush, former Republican politicians, and shock-media rival Rush Limbaugh contribute little to constructive debate about how we can fix today’s true problems. And his soapbox forays in such segments as the “Worst Person in the World” – a daily lambast of often unsavory, but many just politically...

Some of the nation's largest companies pushed back against U.S. Democrats' plans to deliver a government-run insurance option in a healthcare overhaul, decrying it as a step backward that would drive up costs for employers and their workers. The Business Roundtable, comprised of chief executives at Verizon Communications (VZ.N), JPMorgan (JPM.N), General Electric (GE.N), Wal-Mart (WMT.N) and other companies that together employ more than 12 million people, said the federal government is inefficient and would underpay providers. That would result in providers boosting prices for private insurers and employers, the group said on Wednesday.

Yesterday was another up day for the three indices. The Dow was up 47 points to close at just over 10062. The other two indices were up more marginally. The NASDAQ was up just over a point and the S&P was up 4.54. That's the second day the Dow finished above 10000. The Dow will test that levels this morning. There's all sorts of earnings news this morning. Tech stocks like Google and IBM came out after the market closed yesterday and they were positive. On the other hand, both GE and Bank of America have come out with numbers...

This is an excerpt from a recently obtained internal E mail written by a gleeful GE executive. “On climate change we were able to work closely with key authors of the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill, recently passed by the House of Representatives. If this bill is enacted into law it would benefit many GE businesses.” “…benefit many GE businesses” becomes clearer by following the paper trail of “donations” from GEPAC the lobbying arm of General Electric Corporation. GE/Democrat pay to play scheme Last year most of GEPAC’s contributions went to Democrats. This year almost all of its cash bought...

Companies donate to political campaigns in order to gain some leverage over policy making processes. This fun interactive graphic (via) allows you to see which companies donate primarily to Republican and Democratic campaigns, and which straddle the political fence. These are the companies with the largest total contribution:

The ninth chairman and CEO of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt , has upended the traditional innovation model. Among his radical ideas to fire up the $183-billion conglomerate are putting India and China at the centre of a management model that talks of developing products in emerging markets and distributing them globally. In an e-mail interview with ET , Immelt discusses the idea and GE’s India plans. Excerpts: You are expected to make some announcements regarding investments and joint ventures in India. Can you give us some details? India represents one of the significant growth markets for GE globally and we...

Is CNBC For Sale? Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/26/2009 18:44 -0500 CEO CNBC Economy GE General Electric Goldman Goldman Sachs Harbinger Hope ICE Jeff Immelt Media MOVE MSNBC NBC NYT Phil Falcone Truth Wall Street Wall Street Journal There may be some major changes in the NBC ownership structure according to media and financial pundits. Even as General Electric is dealing with significant balance sheet problems, which have been temporarily swept under the rug compliments of unjustified Goldman Sachs stock upgrades, it may be looking at getting rid of its "vanity play", the NBC TV station family, which of...

Guest Commentary Julius - Milton Mark thelastcrusade.org Several people have expressed muted outrage over Zbigniew Brzezinski's call for Obama to shoot down Israeli aircraft. Our friend Gummo called to remind us that most U.S. Presidents since 1948 have had similar plans on their global agendas. We must admit that singling-out our Mystery President for the same treachery that other corrupt, Satan-worshiping leaders and their advisors have displayed, does seem a bit unfair. What is taking place now is the seamless continuation of the “Baker Plan” which envisions a world without Israel as a paradise of peace and plenty.Obama, like...

What are you getting? You’re getting the same thing you got when he sold out Honduras to Chavez over that non-coup “coup” they staged: The warm fuzzy glow of knowing that George Bush would heartily disapprove. But some members of Obama’s own party, however, had a simple question for the administration: if this was a return to realism, and a concession to Russia’s long and vocal opposition to the missile program, what, exactly, was the U.S. getting in return for fundamentally changing it? And almost certainly, the answer leads back to Iran… But Russia has given no ground on those...

09/17/09 2:06 PM EDT Reuters reports an interesting nugget in the wake of President Barack Obama's decision to grant Vladimir Putin his wish and kill the Eastern European missile shield: Shortly after the pullback on the shield programme was announced, Russia's government said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would meet several U.S. executives on Friday from firms including General Electric, Morgan Stanley as well as TPG, one of the world's largest private equity firms

Shortly after the pullback on the shield programme was announced, Russia's government said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would meet several U.S. executives on Friday from firms including General Electric, Morgan Stanley as well as TPG, one of the world's largest private equity firms

GE plans to source parts from India for F-16 engine BS Reporter / Chennai/ Bangalore September 17, 2009, 0:22 IST General Electric (GE), which is in contention as the engine supplier for the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract of the IAF with three of its engines, is keen on sourcing components from Indian industry. GE said, it will manufacture, assemble and test the engine, if any of its partner wins the contract, at the Hindusthan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The global engine manufacturing behemoth said it will get many of its engine components manufactured by local firms. GE’s F110-GE-132 turbofan...

Introduction: I have featured several stories now about Dr. Anna Chacko. It's difficult to provide a full explanation each and every time. So, if this is your first reading, I suggest you read this piece, and this piece. That said, here's a quick summary. Dr. Chacko is currently the head of radiology at the Pittsburgh VA. I have tracked her history and I believe that she has engaged in a reign of professional terror that spans at least two decades. She has reigned terror on the military, several VA hospitals, and several other hospitals. I have referred to her as...

Energy Savings: Europe's ban on the incandescent light bulb began phasing in this month, and the U.S. will soon follow. Is Thomas Edison to blame for global warming? And why are we exporting green jobs?When the warm-mongers assemble in Copenhagen this December to hammer out a successor to the failed Kyoto Protocol, no doubt their work to save the earth from the carbon dioxide that gives it life will take place under the eerie light thrown off by compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) mandated by the European Union to fight climate change. The bulbs are more expensive, costing up to...

The current dust-up between Fox News and NBC News/MSNBC has put the focus back on GE and their historically overwhelming penchant for supporting socialism and some would say the destruction of free markets. Which brings me to General Electric or GE, GE under the tutelage of Jeffrey Immelt has not only brought the global giant to the brink of collapse but after doing business with Iran and Syria and receiving $139 Billion from the government to back up it’s debt, GE has positioned itself to be the government arm for both Cap-N-Trade and ObamaCare.

Wikipedia claims, "A cult of personality arises when a country's leader uses mass media to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise." As this typically occurs in a totalitarian nation, that country's ruler, with complete control of the media, is able to mandate what images of him or herself are being disseminated thereby furthering his cult-like status. As Barack Obama did not become president until January 20 of this year, it seems irrefutable that his cult of personality was bestowed upon him by so-called journalists who in order to help him get elected abdicated...

WINCHESTER, VA--“Government did us in,” says Dwayne Madigan, whose job will terminate when General Electric closes its factory next July. Madigan makes a product that will soon be illegal to sell in the U.S. - a regular incandescent bulb. Two years ago, his employer, GE, lobbied in favor of the law that will outlaw the bulbs. Madigan’s colleagues, waiting for their evening shift to begin, all know that GE is replacing the incandescents for now with compact fluorescents bulbs, which GE manufactures in China. Last month, GE announced it will close the Winchester Bulb Plant 80 miles west of D.C....

Not only do they profit billions from Obama’s policies, they shut out dissenting voices on their “news” networks!Obama and the Democrats love to slam Fox News for presenting opposing points of view. So, it’s no surprise that Obama prefers to give interviews to NBC which he feels is more sympathetic to his cause. NBC has been in the tank for Obama from the beginning.Further proof of NBC’s favoritism came this week when the network rejected the following ad from the League of American Voters:

‘Government did us in,” says Dwayne Madigan, whose job will terminate when General Electric closes one its factory next July. Madigan makes a product that will soon be illegal to sell in the U.S.: a regular incandescent bulb. Two years ago, his employer, GE, lobbied in favor of the law that will outlaw the bulbs. Madigan’s colleagues, waiting for their evening shift to begin, all know that GE is replacing the incandescent for now with compact fluorescents bulbs, which GE manufactures in China. Last month, GE announced it will close the Winchester Bulb Plant 80 miles west of Washington, D.C.,...

Just who has been sending “the message”? And how did it permeate not only the media, but also the once-respected U.S. Congress and the courts of our land, including the once-incorruptible Supreme Court? And what menacing forces made the once-courageous conservative media abandon their mission to expose rank corruption and collusion? Two words: Money Talks! If you’re a media mogul and you get word from the FCC that your license will be pulled immediately and irrevocably if you mention only three words – Obama’s birth certificate – poof! You send that word to your employees and tell them that their...

Here is video of Glenn Beck talking with Bill O'Reilly tonight about General Electric and what they are doing to hurt America. Glenn Beck has come out and said the company is "evil," but O'Reilly said he thinks that may be over the top. Beck discussed the fact that GE has become a huge "banking entity," and likened it to having the arrogance of Enron. Beck believes the government is now helping GE as a payback for MSNBC's (owned by GE) huge support of the Obama Campaign. Beck also responded to GOP Congressman Bob Inglis of South Carolina, who called...

see post below for link

It was never intended to be a cease-fire. The best that the men who run two of the nation's media giants were hoping to achieve was a ratcheting down of the rhetoric between their warring commentators. But Keith Olbermann refused to play along this week... Immelt detailed his grievances. His elderly parents in Cincinnati, he said, watch O'Reilly every night... But the war was just beginning at MSNBC... The day after Olbermann's comments about the Tiller slaying, executives convened a large meeting and talked about Fox and the importance of striking the right on-air tone. Olbermann later expressed a willingness...

A decade ago, General Electric was the shining star of American business. Its longtime chief executive, Jack Welch, was named manager of the century by Fortune Magazine, and its stock seemed always to go up. It ran a bewildering array of businesses but somehow always managed to make the expected profits. That record was viewed as proof of superior management, and the battle to succeed Mr. Welch in 2001 was watched all over the business universe. When a winner emerged, the losers quickly were hired to run other major companies. G.E. is different now. The stock has fallen and the...

Yesterday, I wrote a piece detailing a story written by Brian Stelter of the New York Times that purported to claim that higher ups at GE and News Corp, including CEO's Jeffrey Immelt and Rupert Murdoch, that negotiated with each other and then put pressure on their two main cable news commentators, Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann, to reduce the criticism of the other's networks and each other. The piece was published this past weekend.

General Electric Co. will pay a $50 million civil penalty to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing the conglomerate of improper accounting in order to make its financial results appear more attractive to investors. Related Quotes Symbol Price Change GE 13.82 0.00 The SEC said Tuesday that GE violated U.S. securities laws four times between 2002 and 2003 when accounting for items like commercial paper funding and the sale of train locomotives and aircraft engine spare parts. The SEC said the changes helped GE maintain a string of earnings that beat Wall Street expectations each quarter from...

BAGHDAD, Aug 1 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday his government could not afford to pay General Electric for its services and rebuked parliament for failing to allow a $3 billion bond sale. In May, Iraq's cabinet approved the sale of the treasury bonds, of which $2.4 billion was meant to pay to revamp Iraq's dilapidated electricity sector. A lack of power is a major complaint among Iraqis, especially in the searing summer heat. Iraq's electricity minister had said he hoped parliament would ratify the cabinet's decision in early June, but lawmakers stopped work for the summer...

Truce Reached in Cable News Feud Keith Olbermann of MSNBC Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel regularly trade swipes at each other on their cable news shows. By BRIAN STELTER July 31, 2009 It was a media cage fight, televised every weeknight at 8 p.m. But the match was halted when the blood started to spray executives in the high-priced seats. For years Keith Olbermann of MSNBC had savaged his prime-time nemesis Bill O’Reilly of the Fox News Channel and accused Fox of journalistic malpractice almost nightly. Mr. O’Reilly in turn criticized Mr. Olbermann’s bosses and led an exceptional...

Ben Silverman, the co-chairman of NBC Universal Entertainment, is leaving the company to start up a new venture in partnership with Barry Diller’s media and Internet company, IAC. Series Created Under Silverman (total number of episodes as of 4/19): Still Alive: Celebrity Apprentice (19) Chuck (32) Unknown: Howie Do It (14) Canceled: American Gladiators (21) America’s Toughest Jobs (10) The Baby Borrowers (6) Bionic Woman (8) Celebrity Circus (6) Chopping Block (3) Crusoe (12) Fear Itself (8) Journeyman (13) Lipstick Jungle (20) Momma’s Boys (6) My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad (8) My Own Worst Enemy (9) Quarterlife (1)...

We've become slightly famous for accurately predicting the demise of several iconic America companies, including the original AT&T, GM, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac...

Synopsis ... chock full of GE products

GE was out this morning with earnings and continues to validate my central thesis: severe economic contraction. Revenues were down 17% - another double-digit contraction, and this is particularly troublesome in what it says about the global economy, given GE's (GE) global reach. Again, we continue to see the same sort of theme in industrial and consumer products reporting - Harley Davidson (NYSE: HOG) reported units shipped down 30% year over year yesterday, and now GE out with a 17% year over year revenue decline. Stocks are, at their core, priced on earnings growth, with the most-common ratio used for...

General Electric Co.’s second-quarter profit fell by 49 percent, plagued by declining revenue in its financial services, industrial and technology units, including its GE Healthcare division.

Yesterday, Google (GOOG) told Wall Street that its business had “stabilized” during the spring, but it may be one of the only media companies that gets to say that. GE’s (GE) NBC Universal, for instance, just posted second-quarter results that were as bad as its first quarter. Jeff Zucker’s TV and movie unit said revenue was down eight percent and profit down 41 percent for the three months ending June 30; in the previous quarter, revenue was down only two percent, while profit was down 43 percent. Per usual, GE said NBC’s cable business was doing okay (which makes sense...

General Electric Co. (GE) Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said Friday that government stimulus programs were "non-factors" during the first half of 2009, but remains optimistic that they will start gaining traction. Immelt reiterated that GE is well positioned to target up to about $200 billion in revenue from global stimulus efforts, notably in the clean energy, health care and transportation sectors.

The best evidence that Larry Summers is headed to the Federal Reserve is the enormous amount of new power the Obama Administration wants to hand over to the Fed. Are they really doing this so that it can be handed over to the relative outsider, Ben Bernanke? Not likely. This is a power play by the ultimate troika, President Obama, Rham Emanuel and Summers. Of course, there is a reaction to this power play from the corners of Wall Street and beyond that don't have significant influence at the table of the troika. A report, by an alliance including two...

The Jack Welch MBA by: Deborah Lambert, July 15, 2009 In the case of former GE CEO Jack Welch, you name a degree after him. The Wall Street Journal reported that Welch is “paying more than $2 million for a 12 percent stake in Chancellor University System LLC, which is converting a formerly bankrupt university into an online entity—and naming its Business Administration Program the “Jack Welch Institute.” This didn’t happen overnight. Welch, a former skeptic of online programs, had to be convinced that this one would be a high quality product, worthy of his name. The Chancellor project is...

There's no doubt that the NBC universe of networks were and still are the most pro Obama networks. There were the bits of anedotal evidence. For instance, there was the infamous incident in which MSNBC announcer proclaimed that listening to the candidate Obama brought a "thrill up his leg". NBC reporter Lee Cowan admitted that "it's hard to stay objective" during Obama speech. This was an admission that anchor Brian Williams called "courageous". Then, there was the scientific evidence like this Media Research Center's, a conservative Media Watch Dog Group, study, during the campaign, that showed that the most bias...

London, England, Jul 11, 2009 / 04:09 am (CNA).- GE Healthcare has formed a biotech partnership to develop products based on human embryonic stem cells in hopes that their use will replace lab rats in drug development and toxic drug tests.The British-based medical research subsidiary of General Electric, GE Healthcare on June 30 announced a multi-year alliance with Geron Corporation to have Geron provide GE scientists with an undisclosed amount of human embryonic stem cells.According to CNSNews.com, GE Healthcare has said it hopes testing which uses human embryonic cells will spare lab rats from potentially toxic drug evaluations."This could...

GE Healthcare, the medical research subsidiary of General Electric, has formed a partnership with a leading U.S. biotech company to develop products based on human embryonic stem cells that can be used to develop new drugs. On June 30, GE Healthcare and Geron Corporation announced a multi-year alliance where Geron will provide GE scientists with an undisclosed amount of human embryonic stem cells. The human cells will be used “to develop and commercialize cellular assay products derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) for use in drug discovery, development and toxicity screening,” according to a news release. GE Healthcare, which...

Back in April, the Department of Treasury released this statement about the criteria they were looking for in determining companies that would be eligible to compete to be bidders in the private public investment partnership. (PPIP) The Treasury Department today announced the receipt of more than 100 unique applications from potential fund managers interested in participating in the Legacy Securities portion of the Public Private Investment Program (PPIP). A variety of institutions applied, including traditional fixed income, real estate, and alternative asset managers.

We all know by now that MSNBC is an extreme advocate of the liberal agenda that is being pushed forth by the new administration and by the majority in both the House and the Senate. Now, did you know that General Electric owns NBC/MSNBC? The blatant bias of the reporting shown above is bad, but below you will find information about just how deep the ties between the CEO of G.E., Jeffrey Immelt,, and the Obama administration run. With the aid of unbridled support and ardent reporting of MSNBC, an inexperienced and relatively unknown man who was named the most...

General Electric Co. said Friday it will build a $100 million manufacturing technology center in Michigan that will eventually employ about 1,200 workers. The Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center will include a GE research and development facility with scientists and engineers who will develop manufacturing technologies for GE's renewable energy, aircraft engine, gas turbine and other products.

People we live in a different America you need to read the stitches on a fastball at all times. There are several reasons why the Senate has come out saying they have no where near the amount of votes to pass the cap and trade bill.They never would have passed it through the House if they didn't intend to jam it through the Senate. One of the reasons why they and media are saying there are not enough votes is to temper the outrage of the millions that made calls last week to their congressman and women. But more importantly...

It received much fanfare, speculation and criticism when it was first introduced both in February and in March. Now, the Private Public Investment Program (PPIP) is about set to launch. Secretary Geithner first talked about this in February. When he made his initial speech on the matter, he was very vague and general. The market proceeded to plunge four hundred points in the aftermath. Secretary Geithner came back in March with a much more detailed plan and the market responded more favorably. The plan is extremely complicated and it's ultimately unclear if it will work. It has also since gone...

Jeff Immelt, chairman and chief executive of GE, has highlighted his fears of protectionism and called on President Barack Obama to steer US foreign policy toward more open relations with rest of the world, particularly China and the Middle East, to help American companies foster exports and drive economic growth. Jeff Immelt has called for President Obama to initiate more open foreign relations In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph before the opening of the London Business School's Global Leadership Summit on Monday, Mr Immelt said: "US foreign policy needs to be first and foremost focused on the US...

It pays to be in the tank for the president. All of the "tinkle down my leg" news coverage is paying off big for NBC News' parent company. By taking advantage of its ownership of two tiny banks in Utah, GE has been able to issue $80 Billion dollars worth of federally backed loans about one out of every four dollars available in the program. And true to being a friend of the President, General Electric didn't have to go through any of the burdens other participants had to go through like the financial stress test. Nor did they have...

General Electric, the world's largest industrial company, has quietly become the biggest beneficiary of one of the government's key rescue programs for banks. At the same time, GE has avoided many of the restrictions facing other financial giants getting help from the government. The company did not initially qualify for the program, under which the government sought to unfreeze credit markets by guaranteeing debt sold by banking firms. But regulators soon loosened the eligibility requirements, in part because of behind-the-scenes appeals from GE. As a result, GE has joined major banks collectively saving billions of dollars by raising money for...