GE takes $22.8B loss in Q3, reveals DOJ criminal probe

The Hour ^ | Oct 30 2018 | Alexander Soule

[Pearls Before Swine]

GE has some really good stuff: jet engines; advanced medical imaging equipment, nuclear reactor technologies, ...

... and a LOT of debt.

[neverevergiveup]

Thanks for the reminder, but it isn’t applicable. Also, there are plenty of reasons now known to the public for the recent devaluation in this stock, independent of rumors and hearsay. To me, the bigger question is what are the details of the investigation they are under, and what have they been hiding from general investors?

[MulberryDraw]

oops. My grandfather sold some of his GE to buy a farm at a Sheriff’s Sale, not a garage sale. My grandmother used to say that if he’d held the GE instead, he would have been very rich.

[higgmeister]

I inherited some of my Dad’s payroll savings GE Stock and I am so glad I got rid of it three years ago. I never trusted Jeff Immelt and GE Capital Management.

[PittsburghAfterDark]

“Behind the scenes” information that can just as easily be found by searching LInkedIn for people with GE in their history and finding hundreds that have switched jobs out of the company in the past 6-12 months and the positions they used to hold.

[softengine]

Close to it. Very disappointing.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Seeing who left the company would be public knowledge.

Getting information from someone who left the company, telling you of internal issues that are worse than what they are reporting, would still be insider information.

[PittsburghAfterDark]

Okay if it were truly insider information... would it be openly discussed on a public forum?

We’re not talking about having a quarterly or annual report and making trades worth millions a half hour before it’s released.

We’re talking about internal information from corporate broadcasts/netcasts. When this news is being relayed to 1,400 people at a time it’s not exactly a state secret.

I’m really just trying to say that what the financial press is reporting vs. what GE employees as a whole are aware of are much, much different.

[Repeat Offender]

Remember that time when GE teamed up with Sylvania to lobby congress to push these new "eco" lightbulbs down everyone's throat b/c GE couldn't compete against the cheaper bulbs? And now, we have these garish bulbs at $10+ a box instead of $0.75 for incandescents?

Remember when the CEO of GE was an adviser to 0?

I do.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Well I’m sitting on a few shares of Smith & Wesson that are worth about 60% of what I paid for them. So I don’t think anyone’s going to be in line to get stock advice from me.
But GE doesn’t sound like a very good buy right now.

[CharlesWayneCT]

My comment was in reference to another freeper who posted:

I have a significant other in the middle of this that is behind the scenes

If he has a relation with a person who has "behind the scenes" knowledge of stuff happening inside of GE, that is "insider information".

And a lot of people don't realize that, if you read, even on a public forum, a comment from someone who is mentions things they know because of non-public information, you can't use that.

See, everybody would understand that the "significant other" can't be trading GE stock based on knowledge they have of what is happening inside the company.

A majority of people would also realize that a person who has a relationship with that person ALSO can't use that inside information.

But a surprising number of people don't realize that even 3rd-hand knowledge is still "insider", if it started from an insider.

We get trained on this every year, so I figured I'd mention it before some poor freeper got in trouble for dumping their GE stock because of the comment. (not because of the public article we are discussing)

[hanamizu]

Okay if it were truly insider information...

---

I live within a few miles of a Procter & Gamble plant. I’ve been told, that if I were to witness a large explosion at the plant and quickly sell or short PG that that would be considered insider trading since I knew something that the general public was unaware of.

Don’t know if it’s true or not. Rest easy, the P&G factory is still intact.

[reed13k]

The smaller consumer stuff, with exception of some larger appliances, are just licensed to allow the manufacturer to use the GE brand.

The big money is in the larger hardware they do: med devices like MRI/CT, Jet engines, power generators, etc. They actually make most of their money off the servicing of the product and not the actual product itself. They’ll sell the product at a small profit, or even a minor loss; if they can lock in a long term contract for service. At least that is what they were doing when I was there.

They also used to make money off financing the purchases through the GE finance arm, but I don’t know if they get involved with that anymore after 2007/8. When I left I always felt there was some fishy stuff behind the scenes that the average Joe engineer was never going to be allowed to know.

I just hope the minor pension I have with them survives through whatever is coming...but my luck is that it won’t.