Will GE be able to allay investors' concerns?
General Electric Co. (GE) is going to host a five-hour "deep dive" conference on Thursday in which it will attempt to convince investors that its wobbling GE Capital unit -- the world's largest non-bank finance company -- will not end up bankrupting the big conglomerate. Investors concerns are understandable, given that last year the finance unit accounted for nearly half of GE's overall profits.
In its analyst meeting, GE will try to explain everything on its balance sheet, hoping better transparency will restore investors confidence. Investors have been mostly worried about losses on investments and bad loans at its commercial real estate, U.S. credit cards, and U.K. residential real estate, as well as GE Capital's cash levels. They will want details on its assets and estimated losses. But GE Capital won't be easy to explain, with its complex web of $637 billion in assets. This is what analysts hope GE will address tomorrow:
