Recent News: Stock Performance, Commercial Paper Demand, Green Energy Policy, and Solar Panels

GE shares decline for 2nd consecutive day
Shares of General Electric Co. declined Tuesday for the second consecutive day as the Dow Jones industrial average continued to advance. An analyst on Monday reduced his earnings estimate, saying the conglomerate's profits are uncertain. Robert T. Cornell of Barclays (nyse: BCS - news - people ) Capital lowered his fourth-quarter earnings per share estimate to 52 cents from 55 cents and cut his 2009 earnings per share estimate to $1.75 from $1.80.

Demand for Some Commercial Paper Jumps
After being severely constricted for weeks, the commercial paper market showed tentative signs of recovery on Tuesday after global leaders aimed a number of initiatives at stabilizing financial markets. On Tuesday, the U.S. government said it would inject $250 billion into ailing banks and guarantee bank debt for up to three years, and it unveiled details on a program specifically targeted at the commercial paper market....

At HBS, GE's Immelt, Other Big Shots Demand Greener Energy Policy
My colleague, Cathy Arnst, is up at a Harvard B-school confab this week and sent in the following snapshot. Big business leaders are clamoring for strong green investment policies from the next administration. In Cathy’s words: GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt came out of the managed economy closet this morning. In front of some 1,600 business people at Harvard Business School (HBS), the citadel of capitalism, he had this to say about federal government investment in environmental technologies in order to create jobs...

CORRECTED - GE, Convexa fund solar panel maker Soliant
GE Energy Financial Services, announced on Tuesday it has added $2.5 million, part of a venture capital round that funded nearly $21 million for concentrator solar panel manufacturer Soliant Energy. Leading the round of investors was Convexa Capital....