So.... the report is here. I haven't read it. It's worth noting, (and the WSJ places emphasis on) the following:
Harry Markopolos brought down Bernie Madoff.
harry Markopolos was involved in taking down Enron.
However, Harry Markopolos is working for a hedge fund that's short GE and that he won't name.
And Harry Markopolos basically started the whistleblower bounty hunter business.
All that said, it's also worth noting two of the biggest money-sucks in GE's portfolio: pensions and oil.
Another allegation in the report says that GE should have recorded $9.6 billion of losses from Baker Hughes, an oil-and-gas company it owns, instead of the $2.2 billion it reported.
What are the odds that (especially) retail sector “debt reporting” practices like these are widespread, and the effective value of maaaaaaany companies isn’t as high as what the investors were lead to believe?
So weird! Never happened before