Recent News: Jack Welch, Olympics, GE Aviation, and NBC Universal

Judging Ge's Jack Welch
One of the big problems that most of us have in life is that we never get to read our own obituaries, which would be our best chance to see people saying nice things about us. But high-profile corporate chieftains who announce their departures don't have this problem. They get to hear all that nice stuff while they're still around, because retirement stories strongly resemble obits, except that the subject is still alive and kicking. As witness the gushing and slobbering over General Electric chairman Jack Welch last week after he mentioned on a TV show that he plans to retire in April 2001...

GE Goes For The Gold
For years investors have been asking why General Electric owns NBC Universal, and GE has been making the case that despite having little to do with the rest of the business, the network was a one-of-a-kind asset worth hanging on to....

GE Aviation enters fast-growing industry segment with purchase of Czech turboprop engine maker
General Electric's aviation unit said Thursday it bought a Czech company that will help it make inroads into the fast-growing market for small twin-engine turboprop aircraft. GE Aviation said it purchased Walter Engines, a manufacturer of small turboprop engines and machined parts for the aviation industry...

Immelt Defends GE's Wide Reach
Unlike three months ago, when GE announced an unexpected 5.9% drop in first-quarter earnings just weeks after Mr. Immelt had issued sunnier projections, he has told investors to expect relatively flat second-quarter results and profit growth of zero to 5% for 2008. He blames the credit crisis and a difficult economic time....

NBC Universal Clinches Deal to Buy Weather Channel
Long before April’s rare earnings miss at General Electric, which ramped up some analysts’ calls for the industrial conglomerate to sell off some of its businesses, many on Wall Street have scratched their heads over NBC Universal, GE’s media and entertainment arm. Some have called for the company, whose booming infrastructure business can seem like an odd fit with a TV network and movie studio, to spin off the peacock part of the portfolio....

Will GE get out of hot water by selling NBC to Time Warner?
General Electric (NYSE:GE), which reports earnings tomorrow, has indicated that it may spin-off its weakest divisions -- the firm's consumer and industrial units. No one cared, and the stock did not move. The action would not be enough, nearly enough to pull GE away from its multi-year lows....

GE Aviation to supply parts for Gulfstream G650
A unit of General Electric Co. said Monday it will supply parts for Gulfstream Aircraft Corp.'s G650 business jet in a deal worth potentially more than $100 million.
GE Aviation said it will supply the secondary power distribution system and APU door actuation system for the Gulfstream jet....

FlyDubai orders CFM56-7B engines
General Electric Company announced on Monday (15 July) that FlyDubai, a new low-cost carrier from the government of Dubai, UAE, has ordered 50 CFM56-7B-powered Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 and 737-900 aircraft. The CFM56-7B is a product of CFM International (CFM), a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (SAFRAN Group) and General Electric Company...

Airworthiness Directives; General Electric Company (GE) CT58 Series Turboshaft Engines
The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain GE CT58 series turboshaft engines. This proposed AD would require recalculating the lives of certain part numbered compressor spools using a new repetitive heavy lift (RHL) multiplying factor. This proposed AD results from reports of cracks originating from the inner faces of the locking screw holes in the compressor spool. We are proposing this AD to prevent cracks due to RHL missions. Cracks could result in an uncontained rotor burst and damage to, or loss of, the helicopter and serious injuries to any person onboard...