By Nick Porcell
YESTERDAY'S [ GENERAL ELECTRIC (ticker: GE) unit] GE Capital analyst meeting had two interesting datapoints that are noteworthy from a retail investor's perspective.
First, the company's discussion of its U.S. Consumer Finance business provided yet another example of the tightening in consumer credit which continues to put pressure on consumer spending and retail sales. In addition, the company inadvertently provided some information that forced Lowe's (LOW) to issue a press release reconfirming its sales and earnings guidance for the quarter.
GE's presentation included a discussion of its private-label credit-card business that manages receivables for Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), J.C. Penney (JCP), Dillard's (DDS), Gap (GPS) and Lowe's. GE's receivables growth from these retailers is declining at a faster rate than the retailer's sales trends as GE has increased FICO [credit standards set by Fair Isaac (FIC)] requirements, decreased credit lines on new and existing accounts, and put in place other restrictions to avoid balance growth.
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