Recent News: Earnings, GE Energy (Wind), GE Plant to Close, Options Update, GE Transportation, and Uranium (Nuclear Power)

Foolish Forecast: Will GE Change the Channel?
Friday morning brings a highly charged earnings report from General Electric. The omninational conglomerate will tell us how fiscal 2007 turned out. See why our readers called the peacock the second best stock to own in 2008 -- ahead of Buffalo Wild Wings but after Apple -- and then come back for a deeper look at the numbers and community consent....

GE Energy installs more than 2.3 gigawatts of new wind capacity in 2007
General Electric Co.'s GE Energy on Thursday said it stalled more than 2.3 gigawatts of additional wind capacity in 2007, nearly matching the total installed by the entire U.S. wind industry in 2006...

GE announces intent to close
GE announced today its intent to close the Bloomington plant by the fourth quarter of 2009...

Options Update: General Electric (GE), CBOE VIX & Washington Mutual (WM)...
GE volatility is at six-year highs into EPS and outlook. GE is expected to report Q4 EPS of $.68 on January 18th according to Thomson First Call. GE January 32.5 straddle is priced at $1.46. GE February option implied volatility of 34 is above its 26-week average of 25, suggesting larger risk...

Bloomington GE closing does not affect Appliance Park
Today, we announced our intent to close our side-by-side refrigeration production facility in Bloomington, Indiana, no later than fourth quarter 2009. The Bloomington operation loses about $45 million annually due to declining sales and product-selling prices and increased material, operation and labor costs. Despite the hard work and dedication of the union and employees, it does not make good business sense to invest or continue operations at the Bloomington facility in this environment...

GE plans to close Bloomington refrigerator plant
General Electric Co. plans to close its refrigerator plant in Bloomington, Ind., by the fourth quarter of 2009. The plant employs 837 hourly workers and 59 salaried workers, according to a news release. Last year, the operation lost about $45 million, and losses are expected to continue at the same pace, the release said...

GE Plans Partnerships With Uranium Miners for Nuclear
General Electric Co., the world's biggest maker of power-generation equipment, plans to form partnerships with uranium companies to develop its nuclear business and improve access to the fuel that runs reactors...

Erie monsters are this year’s GE favourite
If the General Electric juggernaut has been looking a little worse for wear lately, one part of the US industrial conglomerate that shows few signs of heading into the sidings is its transportation business, based in the unfashionable town of Erie, northern Pennsylvania....

Friday's Focus On GE Earnings
U.S. economy bellwether General Electric is set to be Friday's earnings focus, as the conglomerate is due to issue its fourth-quarter report prior to the market opening. Wall Street is expecting 64 cents in earnings per share, which would be a 6% increase over the similar period in 2006. Shares of Dow component GE fell 3.9% Thursday...