XPost: sac.general, alt.politics.clinton, alt.politics.democrats   
   XPost: alt.politics   
   From: bkshurman@outlook.com   
      
   The crows are coming home to roost.   
      
   For the first time in 110 years, General Electric will not be a   
   member of the elite Dow Jones Industrial Average.   
   S&P Dow Jones Indices announced on Tuesday that the iconic maker   
   of light bulbs and jet engines will be replaced in the 30-stock   
   index by Walgreens Boots Alliance.   
      
   GE (GE) was an original member of the Dow in 1896 and has been   
   in it continuously since November 7, 1907.   
      
   Being ousted from the Dow is the latest indignity for GE, which   
   is dealing with a serious cash crisis caused by years of bad   
   deals. GE has replaced its CEO, slashed thousands of jobs and   
   cut its coveted stock dividend in half.   
      
   Last year, GE was the worst-performing stock in the Dow, losing   
   almost half of its value. GE is down by another 25% this year.   
      
   "We are focused on executing against the plan we've laid out to   
   improve GE's performance," a GE spokeswoman said in a statement.   
   "Today's announcement does nothing to change those commitments   
   or our focus in creating in a stronger, simpler GE."   
      
   To pay down a mountain of debt, GE is selling off long-held   
   businesses. Last month, GE agreed to sell its century-old   
   railroad division. GE is also searching for a buyer for its   
   struggling light bulb division.   
      
   Related: Inside the dismantling of GE   
      
   GE's stock plunge helped lead to its exit from the Dow. That's   
   because the Dow is price-weighted, meaning that GE's $13 price   
   tag had little impact on the index. S&P noted that GE had a   
   weight of less than half a percentage point.   
      
   David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee, noted that   
   industrial companies like GE are no longer as prominent in the   
   American economy. Banks, healthcare, tech and consumer companies   
   play a larger role today.   
      
   "Today's change to the DJIA will make the index a better measure   
   of the economy and the stock market," Blitzer said.   
      
   S&P said GE will be replaced by Walgreens (WBA) on June 26.   
      
   It's the first shake-up to the prestigious Dow since 2015, when   
   Apple (AAPL) replaced AT&T. (T) (CNN is now owned by AT&T).   
      
   The committee that runs the Dow prefers no more than a 10-to-1   
   ratio between the high and low stocks in the index. Yet the gap   
   between GE and Boeing (BA) has soared to more than twice that   
   today.   
      
   GE shares dipped another 2% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.   
      
   http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/19/investing/ge-dow-jones-   
   walgreens/index.html   
       
      
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