General Electric Co.'s first-quarter earnings fell 36 percent on sharply lower profits at its troubled GE Capital finance arm, but the results beat Wall Street forecasts in a glimmer of good news for the struggling company, according to AP. The earnings show that GE Capital remains a major drag on the conglomerate's profits, but also suggest that GE's strategy of weathering the economic slowdown by relying on its big industrial businesses is paying off, at least for now. GE, which has a stake in almost every sector of the economy, from light bulbs and credit cards to windmills, on Friday reported net income of $2.74 billion, or 26 cents per share. That was down from $4.30 billion, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier. Earnings from continuing operations were 26 cents per share, surpassing the 21 cents forecast by analysts.
