GE 2Q Earnings

General Electric 2Q profit falls
Industrial and financial conglomerate General Electric Co. announced Friday that its profit fell 6 percent in the second quarter, and that it has agreed to sell its Japanese consumer finance business for $5.4 billion. Fairfield-based GE earned $5.07 billion, or 51 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $5.38 billion, or 52 cents per share....

GE and Markets
General Electric's earnings today offer a stark look at what's going wrong (and a bit of what's right) in the market. Second-quarter profits fell 6 percent, and the company said it's selling off its Japanese consumer finance business. That's the latest surprise just weeks after GE said it would consider selling its consumer and industrial unit, which includes its signature appliances and light-bulb divisions....