General Electric (GE) Continues Free Fall, Now Below $17

Shares of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) hit a new 52-week low today, breaking below the $17 per share level. The stock is down 21% in the last month, 43% in the last three-months and 56% in the last year.

In addition, shares of GE are 24% below the recent 548 million share equity offering, which priced at $22.25. With that offering, Warren Buffett bought $3 billion in perpetual preferred stock with a 10% dividend and received warrants to purchase $3 billion of common stock with a strike price of $22.25 per share.

The recent Federal Reserve Commercial Paper facility alleviated concerns about short-term funding for GE, but news yesterday that Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW), a company spun-out from GE, was shut-off from the Fed's facility after being downgraded has investors nervous again. In addition, investors continue to be worried about the dividend, which is yielding 7.3%, even after the company said they are committed to paying it through 2009.