Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights

It appears that the strength of the dollar in recent months due to the Euro crisis is already starting to take its toll on U.S. international competitiveness. It is not just that our trade deficit with Europe is deteriorating, rising to $7.8 billion in June from $6.2 billion in May. Our companies compete directly with European companies in many third-world countries.
For example, General Electric (NYSE: GE - News) and Siemens (NYSE: SI - News) of Germany both make products like MRI machines. If the value of the euro falls 10% against the dollar, then Siemens can easily undercut the price it quotes to a Chinese hospital that is interested in upgrading its medical imaging department, and thus get sales that might have otherwise gone to GE. China is, of course, our largest bilateral trade deficit, and it increased to $26.2 billion from $22.3 billion in May.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Green Energy, Clean Energy, Coal-Beautification, Tobacco-Free, and Nuclear Plants in Poland

General Electric (GE) Stock – Will Green Energy Make It Pop?
There’s no question that General Electric (NYSE:GE) is counting on green energy to help boost revenues. General Electric Co. CEO Jeffrey Immelt spoke to the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Conference in Washington and was clear about what he felt the country needed to do.

He indicated he was afraid that America would be non competitive in the alternative energy markets if action wasn’t taken quickly.
“Right now we have no certainty around an energy future,” Immelt said. “Let’s not take this growth industry and give it to every other country in the world but the U.S.”
Immelt went on to highlight ways he thought the government could help sell green energy to the masses and to protect American industry.

GE CEO Immelt: U.S. lags in clean energy; federal smart grid oversight needed
On the global stage, the United States is facing its stiffest competition to date in the race for clean energy, said General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt at a conference in Maryland.

Speaking at the ARPA-E Summit in National Harbor, Md., Immelt said energy demand is redirecting toward the developing world, and unclear policies and low levels of research and development spending could hinder U.S. progress moving forward — despite new technologies in the pipeline.
“Unless we have a broad perspective on job creation, innovation, and technology growth, we are going to fall behind as a country,” Immelt said, as reported by SmartPlanet sister site CNET. “We need growth as a country and globally we play in a much more competitive arena than any other time in our lifetimes.”
Immelt said current trends indicate that Asian countries will demand energy products at a higher rate than the U.S. or Europe — drawing businesses, innovation and supply chain strength to those countries.
As an example, Immelt said the number of passenger cars sold in China and India will be more than twice the number sold in the U.S. by 2020.

GE Is on a Coal-Beautification Mission
General Electric is "changing the perception of coal energy in America." It's clean -- and sexy. Just watch this TV ad. But wait there's more. Here's the problem: you've got lots of coal in the ground that you want to use to generate electricity and profits. But coal has a reputation for being dirty and causing tons of pollution. So what do you do?

General Electric to go tobacco-free in 2011: Work sites to be tobacco-free
A year ago, General Electric Co. promised financial incentives to U.S. employees who kicked the smoking habit.

Now, the company is going a step further, launching a new policy that would make all the company's work sites tobacco-free by this time in 2011.
There are some other differences between then and now.
For one thing, the Connecticut-based company, one of the world's largest, is addressing only at-work behavior.
Employees won't be asked to sign a tobacco-free pledge that extends beyond the workplace, said Stephan Koller, a spokesman for GE Transportation, based in Lawrence Park Township.
But they will be asked to refrain from using tobacco of all kinds on company property.
General Electric to go tobacco-free in 2011: Work sites to be tobacco-free
GE Hitachi To Build Nuclear Plants In Poland - Update
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, and Polish power company Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA, Friday said they have signed a new agreement to collaborate on Poland's initiative to build next-generation commercial nuclear power plants. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is a nuclear alliance formed by General Electric Co. (GE: News ) and Hitachi Ltd. (HIT: News ).

Through this alliance, Poland plans to build two nuclear power plants that would help the country diversify its energy production, which currently relies heavily on coal-based technologies.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Recent News: Immelt and Shareholders, Cost-Cutting, GE Real Estate, and GE Energy Financial Services

Immelt: GE will cut another $1 billion in 'difficult times'
Less than two weeks after General Electric shocked investors by reporting a 6% loss in first-quarter profits, CEO Jeff Immelt said Wednesday that he sees "even more difficult times ahead" for the economy. But at the company's annual shareholder meeting here he said U.S. capital markets have improved since the end of the first quarter...

GE hikes cost-cutting goal to $3 billion
General Electric Co chief Jeffrey Immelt said on Wednesday U.S. capital markets have improved since the end of the first quarter but the overall U.S. economic picture is unchanged, and the company has raised its 2008 cost-cutting goal by $1 billion...

Immelt works to reassure shareholders at GE's annual meeting
General Electric Co.'s annual meetings are typically upbeat affairs as executives showcase the company's successes to satisfied shareholders of one of the world's most diversified and successful companies. But after GE chief executive Jeff Immelt was lambasted earlier this month for failing to hit first-quarter goals and triggering a selloff that wiped out more than $46 billion of GE's market capitalization, Wednesday's annual meeting was essentially a mea culpa to investors and analysts alike...

GE Buys $2.5B Loan Book From Capmark Europe
With capital markets worldwide reaching for firmer footing, GE Real Estate has struck its second Pan-European mega-deal in five months for a commercial property loan book. The £1.22-billion [$2.51 billion USD] acquisition of senior and whole loans is secured by 39 performing retail and office properties, predominately in Germany...

Immelt Targets More Cuts at GE Annual Meeting (GE)
Jeff Immelt will get to explain the recent General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) earnings SNAFU all over again today. Frankly, all we really care about at 247WallSt.com is what lies ahead rather than rehashing what we already saw. We probably won't be hanging on for every single comment this morning, but there was at least some addressing of the current climate and some remedies it seeks. For starters, the company is now targeting for $3 Billion in cost cuts rather than $2 Billion. The company also said it will more frequently review its entire portfolio, which translates to the possibilities that the company can have more spin-offs or divestitures down the road...

No credit crunch in energy, GE unit says
After investing $104 million for the acquisition of oil and natural gas reserves in the Gulf Coast, officials from GE's Energy Financial Services unit in Stamford said they're still looking to do business. With fewer financing options available because of the ever-tightening credit markets, John Schaeffer, managing director and head of the oil and gas unit at the GE division thinks his company is one of the most reliable partners for oil and gas companies in the high-demand energy sector. "There are fewer financing options out there since the subprime crisis," Schaeffer said. "The prices paid for assets have come back to a more rational level. We're now more competitive than we were when there was more inexpensive money out there."...

Monday, February 4, 2008

Recent News: GE Money India, GE Capital Europe, GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies, Gas Turbine Engines, GE Oil & Gas, GE Energy (Wind), Healthcare

GE Money India names new CEO
In the midst of inducting a new strategic partner for its personal loan and mortgage business, GE Money India on Wednesday named Iqbal Singh as its new CEO, and said it expects to close the deal in 6-8 months...

GE unit to sell 18-month FRN on Wednesday -lead
GE Capital European Funding, guaranteed by GE Capital Corp, plans to sell an 18-month floating-rate note later on Wednesday, said an official at one of the lead managers...

New Corrosion-Resistant, Submersible Level Probe From GE
GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions (NYSE: GE), has introduced a new corrosion-resistant, submersible level probe that offers a reliable, accurate and economical solution to level measurement in a wide variety of applications. The new SLP has been developed to allow trouble-free operation in tasks ranging from level measurement in single tanks to multiple-point level data gathering in high value commodity storage facilities...

GE Frame 9FB Gas Turbines Surpass 8,000 Hours At Iberdrola’s Arcos III Plant
A GE 209FB combined-cycle system has surpassed 8,000 operating hours at CCC Arcos de la Frontera Grupo III (Arcos III) in Cadiz, Spain, the commercial launch site for GE’s 50-hertz, 9FB gas turbine technology. In commercial operation since March 2006, the Arcos III plant is owned by Spanish energy producer Iberdrola Generacion S.A. and is generating approximately 810 megawatts of power for the Spanish electricity grid. The 8,000-hour mark is considered an industry milestone...

GE Oil & Gas,StatoilHydro Pen Frame Deals For $300 Million
GE Oil & Gas unit secured two frame agreements to supply compression equipment and services to StatoilHydro, for more than $300 million total...

GE Money India seeks partners for personal loans, mortgage biz
GE Money India is scouting for a strategic partner for its wholly-owned personal loans and mortgage businesses, the newly appointed CEO and President, Mr Iqbal Singh has said...

New Corrosion-Resistant, Submersible Level Probe From GE
GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions (NYSE: GE), has introduced a new corrosion-resistant, submersible level probe that offers a reliable, accurate and economical solution to level measurement in a wide variety of applications. The new SLP has been developed to allow trouble-free operation in tasks ranging from level measurement in single tanks to multiple-point level data gathering in high value commodity storage facilities....

GE Energy reinforces leadership position in U.S. wind industry
GE Energy reinforced its position as North America’s leading supplier of wind turbines in 2007, with another record-breaking year for the U.S. wind industry...

GE Healthcare invests in ICL-managed Shefa
GE Healthcare, a $17 billion business of General Electric Company (GE), yersterday announced an investment in Shefa Healthcare Fund (SHF) managed by Injazat Capital Limited (ICL)...

Monday, August 13, 2007

GE Plastics Sale Updates...

- EU clears SABIC's buy of GE Plastics (Reuters)

- GE wins EU approval to sell plastics unit to Saudi petrochemicals company (IHT)

- GE Plastics changing name to Sabic Innovative Plastics (canplastics.com)

- GE Plastics' glazing for stadiums and arenas (Construction & Maintenance)

- EU inquiry deadline for Sabic buy of General Electric's plastics unit Aug 3 (Forbes)