Source: Reuters -- Read Full Story

Disappointing first-quarter earnings from General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and a drop in U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest in more than a quarter century in early April provided the latest signs the U.S. economy may be in a recession. General Electric, the second-largest U.S. company by market capitalization, on Friday posted an unexpected 6 percent drop in first-quarter profit. Profit at its financial services arm, which accounted for more than a third of GE's total revenue in the quarter, fell about 20 percent -- the biggest shock yet to American industry from the credit crisis. Weakness in health care and industrial divisions also weighed on results. "It's confirmation that we're in a recession," Jerome Heppelmann, portfolio manager at Liberty Ridge Capital in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, said of GE's results.