GE/stimulus: General Electric bill

General Electric used to be a bellwether for the global economy. It may now be a proxy for worldwide stimulus packages. The industrial conglomerate’s first quarter beat expectations. Even the financial side made money. But that briefly sexy business now looks like a drag, and its once-boring businesses seem set to benefit from an eventual economic upturn – and, shorter-term, from worldwide government spending. GE’s old-fashioned industrial business units did well in the quarter. Energy infrastr...