Recent News: Bond Issue and Jeffery Immelt

GE Plans $8.5 Billion Bond Sale, Biggest Since 2002 (Update3)
General Electric Co., five days after disappointing investors with an unexpected profit drop, plans to raise $8.5 billion in the largest U.S. corporate bond offering in six years.
GE, the biggest U.S. corporate borrower, enticed investors with the highest yields that it's offered since early 2002. The planned sale demonstrates that top-rated investment-grade borrowers can still raise cash even amid concern that the economy is slipping into a recession...

Asia Day Ahead: Welch Says GE's Immelt Has `Credibility Issue'
U.S. stocks rose the most in two weeks as better-than-forecast profits from Intel Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. eased concern that the slowing economy is dragging down earnings. Crude oil and gasoline rose to records after the Energy Department reported unexpected declines in U.S. crude inventories and refinery operating rates...

Jeff Immelt on the Nasty Surprise at GE
It's not easy grilling your boss—especially when he's in the hot seat, as Jeff Immelt has been since Apr. 11 when GE reported disappointing first-quarter earnings that took the Street by surprise. CEO Immelt, who only weeks before had been sounding bullish, apologized for the unexpected news that earnings would grow at most 5% for the year. But that didn't deter observers, including former GE CEO Jack Welch, from taking him to task. Welch told CNBC (which employs me and is part of NBC Universal, a unit of GE): "Here's the screw-up. You made a promise that you'd deliver this, and you miss three weeks later. Jeff has a credibility issue. He's getting his ass kicked." I was on my way to the Mideast, but I called Immelt, and to his credit, he agreed to an interview and never sidestepped the tough questions...

Embattled GE CEO Defends Strategy
Five days after General Electric Co. disappointed investors with a surprise first-quarter earnings slump, Chief Executive Jeffrey R. Immelt defended his strategy and dismissed cries to split up and remake the conglomerate. But even as he moves to address rising investor pressure, he came under criticism Wednesday from another important constituent: GE's high-profile former CEO, Jack Welch...