GE earnings meet reduced forecast

General Electric Co. spared investors any nasty surprises as it reported a 22 percent drop in third-quarter earnings Friday, meeting its own lowered forecast and blaming the decline on its struggling finance arm. The company's loan and lease business has been hammered by the worst financial crisis since the 1929 stock market crash.

GE, which also makes everything from jet engines to water treatment systems and owns NBC Universal, reported net income of $4.3 billion, or 43 cents a share. Sales rose 11 percent to $47.23 billion.

A year earlier, the company earned $5.56 billion, or 54 cents.

-- Press Democrat news services