The American icon General Electric Co. (GE) reported fourth-quarter net income losses at 46%, due to a difficult year in the economy, failing financial business, and lowered stock and exchange traded fund (ETF) success.
Finance Arm Struggling. The company makes everything from refrigerators to jet engines, owns a television network (NBC) and runs a huge loan and lease business. Investor confidence is low for the industrial giant, as tumbling stock prices have hurt the share prices and the finance arm of the company can’t get it together, reports Stephen Manning for the Associated Press.
Mainstay products such as electronics have hit a wall concerning their demand, as Samsung Electronics is no exception. The company posted their first quarterly loss ever today. Flat-screen televisions, liquid crystal displays and other similar products are not flying off the shelves anymore, as the U.S. consumer has become conservative.
Samsung’s Losses. Kelly Olson for the Associated Press reports that Samsung lost $20 billion for the fourth quarter compared to a gain of $323.1 billion for their net profit a year earlier. Even heavyweight Sony Corp. (SNE) posted losses for fourth-quarter reports, showing there are major challenges ahead for electronics companies.
U.K. Enters Recession. Major economies around the globe are in financial straits, and the United Kingdom has officially entered into a recession during the fourth quarter. Matthew Saltmarsh for The New York Times reports that the country’s GDP fell 1.5% from the third quarter, down 1.8% from one year earlier. The Central Bank may take unconventional measures to restore inter-banking lending and try and restore consumer confidence. This adds much weight to the case for The Bank of England to takes rates to 0%.
- iShares MSCI United Kingdom (EWU): down 11.9% for past three months
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.