Biz bits

GE financial unit loss eclipses other gains

General Electric Co.'s troubled financial unit dragged down third-quarter earnings 44 percent, overshadowing gains in divisions that make power plant turbines and household appliances.

The results from one of the world's largest companies show the spotty strength of the global economy. While "signs of life" are emerging - profits are up for some industrial goods and services - consumers and businesses are still reeling from large numbers of defaults in credit cards and mortgages.

"The global environment is improving, but we are expecting a gradual recovery," GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt cautioned on Friday after the company posted its results.

GE's quarterly profit fell to $2.4 billion, or 23 cents per share, hurt by sharply lower earnings at its GE Capital arm, which loans money for businesses ranging from credit cards to shopping centers. A year earlier, the company earned $4.3 billion, or 43 cents a share.

GE's overall revenue dropped 20 percent to $37.8 billion, coming up short of what Wall Street was expecting.

Industrial output up more than expected

WASHINGTON — Output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose for the third straight month, but some economists say the manufacturing growth that has helped lead the nascent economic recovery might slow as federal stimulus programs are phased out.

Higher output of motor vehicles and parts spurred much of the September increase, due in part to the government's Cash for Clunkers program. But steel and other sectors also posted gains.

"Thanks to the Cash for Clunkers program, replenishing inventories and exports, U.S. factories are getting back into business," Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients.

The Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 0.7 percent last month. That beat the 0.2 percent increase that Wall Street economists expected, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

August output also was revised higher, to 1.2 percent from 0.8 percent.

Industrial output increased at a 5.2 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the Fed said, the largest quarterly gain since the first three months of 2005. It's also the first quarterly increase since the beginning of 2008.

Pump prices follow crude oil's increase

NEW YORK — Oil prices finished above $78 per barrel for the first time in a year, marking the largest weekly percentage increase in the cost of crude since the height of the summer driving season. Retail gas prices have begun to tag along.

Friday, for the first time in almost three weeks, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline crept above $2.50.

An Energy Department report sent a ripple through the markets midweek when it revealed a huge and unexpected drawdown in gasoline supplies. Energy prices surged Friday, even though the country continues to sit on an enormous supply of petroleum.