
GE Woes Deepen as SEC Investigation Throws Wrench in Turnaround - uptown
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-24/ge-says-company-is-subject-to-sec-investigation-jct57d0k
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ams6110
Long-term care insurance is a racket. If you buy it, read the terms _very_
carefully. Most policies are loaded with escape clauses and will end up paying
only a small fraction of any eventual long term care costs.

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1123581321
Several years ago, I looked this up. The LTC payout ratio for men was ~.8 and
for women was 1.05. The average was close to 1.0 since more women had LTC
insurance. So, it’s possible that LTC provides too little coverage, but that’d
mean it is also underpriced.

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hickeygareth
Why do you think it may be underpriced? A policy with a payout ratio of 1.0
can still be highly profitable for an insurer.

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1123581321
Not highly profitable without assuming too much risk, but yes, 1.0 is
profitable.

But let’s say the LTC underwriters can pay out 10% more and stay in business.
That would mean that in The OP’s “scam” scenario situation, instead of
getting, say, $100,000 in benefits over two years, they could get $110,000.
However, the inflamed wording suggests OP wants a lot more than his relative
is getting, not a little bit more, like $300,000 over four years. That
wouldn’t be possible to do in aggregate without charging a higher premium.

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madengr
I’m glad my employer never merged with GE. IIRC it was blocked. Of course they
still implemented much of the management BS, such as stack ranking (firing 15%
of your workforce every year).

I have no respect for a company that moves from manufacturing to the worst
kind of finance; high interest credit cards.

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bostonpete
> they still implemented much of the management BS, such as stack ranking
> (firing 15% of your workforce every year)

I believe GE scrapped this system in 2015.

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tekism
Hmm, you'd think this would make the stock go down (today), but it hasn't yet.

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AznHisoka
Daily stock movements are practically random. Stocks go down even if earnings
beat estimates.

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dagw
_Stocks go down even if earnings beat estimates._

Only if you beat estimates by less than people had estimated you would.

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AznHisoka
[https://investorplace.com/2017/11/workday-inc-
wday/#.WmioNOi...](https://investorplace.com/2017/11/workday-inc-
wday/#.WmioNOi7_Sw)

Workday beated estimates by over 50%, yet shares fell. I can give a lot more
examples...

Lots of investors also sell when earnings beat estimates because they think
they'll be selling high, etc. Point is there are tons of factors and it is way
too simplistic to say beating earnings = price increase on that day.

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dagw
There are two estimates you need to consider. The official estimate and the
'secret' estimate that investors really think you should beat. Although most
people focus on the first one, it's only the second one that really counts.

 _Point is there are tons of factors and it is way too simplistic to say
beating earnings = price increase on that day._

Absolutely agree.

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ghostcluster
I am sad they got out off the light bulb business.

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matt4077
Have you seen the new crop of LED bulbs? The clear ones with the filaments
visible are almost as brilliant as "traditional" clear bulbs, and the light is
indistinguishable for me–all at 10% of the power usage of traditional
lighting.

I had avoided CFL bulbs for aesthetic reasons, but the advances of the last
year have convinced me.

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polskibus
Is the light spectrum continuous and is the bulb not flashing with very high
frequency anymore?

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cmurf
I want the spectrum to be relatively flat, i.e. lacking the spikes that we see
with most fluorescing materials. The flatter it is, the more well behaved
it'll be compared to what our biology is designed for: black body radiators.

Also, the aging profile is important. Just because the thing won't stop
working for 10 years is not what's important. If it starts color shifting in a
year, which to date they do, that's pretty much shit. Try mixing and matching
bulbs, it's horrendous.

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wlesieutre
There are LEDs with smoother spectrums but they’re expensive and not widely
used, especially in products targeted at consumers.

[http://www.seoulsemicon.com/en/technology/Sunlike/](http://www.seoulsemicon.com/en/technology/Sunlike/)

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sschueller
Let's not forget the time GE sold its Swiss subsidiary to Hungary for 40k and
back an hour later for 6,7 Billion to avoid paying taxes in Switzerland. [1]

[1] [https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wirtschaft/standard/Die-
Steuerv...](https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wirtschaft/standard/Die-
Steuerverwaltung-war-vollstaendig-informiert/story/21328250)

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vkou
When I hear of accounting like that, my immediate desire is to see GE
Switzerland nationalized, and its shareholders get paid $40K for it. That's
what it's worth, right?

