Recent News: Water, Appliances - LG, NBC - Weather Channel, GE Aviation, Global Growth, Ratings, Santander, and GE Energy Financial Services

GE eyes world's next big worry: water
Surging oil prices have captured the attention of consumers and leaders around the globe, but General Electric Co. is already on to what it thinks will be the world's next big worry -- water. The company said on Wednesday it aims to cut its water usage 20 percent by 2012, a move that should reduce its annual operating costs by $15 million to $20 million....

LG Electronics says no decision on possible GE appliance unit bid
LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it has made no decisions on a possible bid for General Electric Co.'s appliance unit....

LG is a leading contender to buy GE appliance unit
General Electric named LG Electronics of South Korea on Wednesday as one of the leading contenders to buy its appliance business, which is valued at $4 billion to $8 billion.
Major Asian appliance makers like Haier Electronics Group of China and LG have been cited as likely bidders since GE said earlier this month that it may part with its century-old appliances unit. The unit had 2007 revenues of $7.2 billion....

Suitors line up for GE appliances
General Electric (GE) has named four companies it says are interested in buying its household appliances unit. It cited LG Electronics, China's Haier, Mabe of Mexico and Arcelik of Turkey as possible bidders for the unit, whose products include fridges and toasters. The US industrial giant said last month that it was likely to stop making household appliances after more than a century in the business...

Report: NBC U (GE) Bidding $3.5 Billion For Weather Channel
When Landmark first put Weather Channel on the block in January, the asking price floated was $5 billion. Now the leading bidder for the cable channel and Web site, a consortium including NBC U (GE), Blackstone Group and Bain Capital, is offering $3.5 billion, roughly half of which, or $1.8 billion, is equity, according to Reuters. Blackstone's GSO Capital is also putting in $600 million....

Four communities in running for GE facility
A planned 400,000-square-foot, $75 million GE Aviation engineering facility will be located in one of four locations, possibly West Chester Twp. Just who winds up with the prize may come down to aggressive salesmanship. ExtrasGE spokesman Rick Kennedy said West Chester Twp., Evendale, Springdale and a location in Boone County, Ky., are the potential homes of a consolidated office that will house almost 1,600 GE Aviation employees with a total annual payroll of about $140 million....

Nippon Takes Delivery Of GE's 1st Upgraded CF6-80C2 Engine
Nippon Cargo Airlines recently took delivery of its first General Electric CF6-80C2 engines incorporating a new, high-pressure turbine upgrade. The turbine upgrade, part of GE's new Tech CF6 program, was installed in engines for the airline's new Boeing 747-400F aircraft. Nippon Cargo ordered four 747-400F aircraft, and the first was delivered today. The remaining three will be delivered between now and February 2009...

If GE Thinks Globally, Shouldn't You?
It's hard enough keeping tabs on suppliers and customers within your own area code. Networking and expanding overseas? That's for the big guys, right? Not necessarily. In the U.S., small businesses thrive in niches overlooked by the big corporations, and the same holds true in other countries. These days, as the American economy stumbles, looking beyond the U.S. may be the key to success....

General Electric shares could be a buy - Barron's
Shares of General Electric Co, the second largest U.S. company, have limited downside and investors can now make a better case for buying the stock, financial weekly Barron's reported in its June 2 edition....

GE, Santander finalize GE Money, Interbanca deal
General Electric Co. said on Monday its GE Commercial Finance unit finalized an agreement to acquire Banco Santander SA's Italian banking arm Interbanca, while the Spanish bank buys several GE Money businesses in Europe....

GE to seek partnerships in consumer credit segment in Italy
General Electric Co, after closing the deal to take over Interbanca SpA, is looking for further partnerships in Italy in the consumer credit segment, said Giuseppe Recchi, chairman of GE Italia in an interview with daily La Stampa....

GeoResources, GE unit team up on Oklahama reserves investment
GeoResources Inc. is teaming up with GE Energy Financial Services to invest up to $90.5 million to buy and develop proven producing oil and gas reserves in Oklahoma....

Recent News: Weather Channel, NBC, China Growth, Appliance Sale (Videocon, LG, HAIER, Arcelik), Water, Energy, Saudi Arabia, and Immelt Trading

NBC Universal a top Weather Channel bidder-source
General Electric Co's NBC Universal, in partnership with the Blackstone Group, is seen as a leading contender for the Weather Channel, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday...

INTERVIEW-GE Fanuc expects faster growth in greater China
GE Fanuc, General Electric's production systems venture with Japan's Fanuc Ltd, expects its greater China sales will grow up to 30 percent annually over the next four to five years, up from about 20 percent now, as regional firms look to improve efficiency....

GE chief executive defends company's broad portfolio in face of calls to shed more businesses
General Electric Co.'s chief executive officer on Wednesday defended the industrial conglomerate's broad array of businesses and his decisions to sell off several units.
Jeffrey Immelt has been under pressure to shed more businesses, particularly after the Fairfield-based company's disappointing first-quarter earnings release last month in which profit fell 6 percent, to $4.3 billion (€2.73 billion)...

Videocon may bid for GE's appliances division
Videocon, the diversified electronics and retail business group, is studying an invitation from General Electric (GE) to bid for its century-old appliances division, which it has put up for sale...

General Electric should not sell NBC Universal
Lately, I've been hearing a lot of chatter about General Electric and its NBC Universal asset. Specifically, there's been talk about the future of the movie and television business and its role as a productive member of the GE portfolio. There are a lot of pundits out there who would like to see it sold off; probably a lot of investors would like that, too. Thankfully, CEO Jeffrey Immelt isn't one of them; he has consistently and steadfastly denied that NBC Universal will be offered to buyers in the near future. I hope he retains such opinion, because I definitely think GE needs NBC Universal....

LG Electronics Is Looking At GE's Appliance Unit
LG Electronics Inc.'s chief executive said the company is taking a close look at General Electric Co.'s appliance unit, which has recently been put up for sale, though he stopped short of declaring an interest in buying it....

HAIER Group Corp bids to buy GE unit under study
HAIER Group Corp is considering buying General Electric Co's consumer-appliance unit, the Economic Observer reported, citing an unidentified official with Haier. Haier has held talks with China Development Bank on financing the bid which could cost between 4 billion U.S. dollars and 8 billion U.S. dollars, the Beijing-based newspaper said in a report last Saturday. The Qingdao-based company hasn't yet made contact with GE about a possible purchase of the unit which makes refrigerators, ovens and dishwashers, the weekly newspaper said...

Turkey's Arcelik eyes to buy GE's appliance unit
Arcelik, Turkey's largest manufacturer of household appliances is among the several potential suitors vying to acquire the electrical household appliances of world giant General Electric (GE), company Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt said on Wednesday....

General Electric to Cut Water Usage by 20% by 2012
General Electric Co., the world's biggest maker of power-generation equipment and jet engines, plans to reduce water consumption by one-fifth by 2012 as part of its conservation efforts.
In addition to the first-ever water reduction pledge, Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE also said it intends to have $25 billion in sales of environmentally friendlier products and services by 2010, a 25 percent increase...

GE Energy signs $500 million for gas turbines, generators in Saudi Arabia
GE Energy, a General Electric Co. business, has signed contracts of more than $500 million (€319.37 million) to build and install gas turbines and generators at Saudi Arabian power plants, the company announced....

GE unit wins $500 million Saudi power contract
General Electric Co said on Thursday that its GE Energy unit had won $500 million in contracts to supply gas turbines and generators to various power plants owned by the Saudi Electricity Co...

Immelt Sells And Buys GE
Jeff Immelt was the consummate salesman Wednesday as he fanned the flames around the proposed sale of GE's appliance business by outing several bidders. He was also selling when he bought up more company stock, but with that move he was selling himself....

General Electric CEO buys 115,000 shares
The chief executive of General Electric Co. bought 115,000 shares of the conglomerate on Wednesday, according to a regulatory filing. In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Jeffrey Immelt said he bought the shares for prices ranging from $30.59 to $30.66 a share, for a total of about $3.5 million....