GE: A Dow 30 Dog

After what looked like a washout bottom yesterday with General Electric Inc. (GE) shares tumbling to a near 5 year low at $28.89, the stock is sporting another 1% drop this morning – even with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.4%, holding for now a triple digit gain. The conglomerate is the second largest percentage loser and one of only five stocks in the Dow 30 that are lower, as well as having the distinction of being the only component that is at a new 52-week low Friday.

Can’t imagine what former boss Jack Welch is thinking right about now, or what he would say publicly. If you recall, after the company reported disappointing first quarter earnings, he went on CNBC and said that CEO Jeffrey Immelt has a credibility issue and said “I’d be shocked beyond belief, and I’d get a gun out and shoot him if he doesn’t make what he promised now.” Immelt has since reiterated 2008 guidance and made a token gesture of buying back stock, 115,000 shares on May 28 for about $30.60 a piece, but that hasn’t done anything to stop the stock slide as investor fears of further write downs in its finance division persist. Have to believe that Welch has a few choice words for Immelt at this time too.