BusinessJanuary 24, 2005
Business memo 01/24/05
General Electric's profits jump 18 percent; Mood of nation's shoppers less rosy
General Electric's profits jump 18 percent
STAMFORD, Conn. -- General Electric Co.'s profit jumped 18 percent in the fourth quarter, saying acquisitions and a strong global economy are ushering in a return to double-digit earnings growth at the nation's largest company. The Fairfield-based industrial, financial and media conglomerate said Friday it earned $5.37 billion, or 51 cents per share, in the October-December period, up from $4.56 billion, or 45 cents a share, a year ago. The results beat the consensus estimate of 50 cents per share of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. Revenue in the fourth quarter was $43.7 billion, up 18 percent from $37 billion in the same period a year ago.
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Mood of nation's shoppers less rosy
NEW YORK -- Consumers' outlook on the economy was less rosy in the first half of the month, according to a leading survey released Friday that attempts to gauge the mood of the nation's shoppers. The University of Michigan's mid-month report on consumer sentiment for January showed that its headline index fell to 95.8 from 97.1 in December, according to people in the market who have seen the subscriber-only report. The average forecast for the index was 97.0, according to a Dow Jones Newswires/CNBC survey of economists. Expectations on the economy dragged down the main index as those surveyed reported a more upbeat assessment of current conditions.
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