<|begin_of_text|><|begin_of_text|><|begin_of_text|>NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Electric Co. shook the U.S. stock market Friday, reporting a 6% drop in first-quarter net profit -- largely over trouble in its financial-services businesses -- and cutting its 2008 earnings<wm> forecast.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - GE said that due to the struggling financial institutions' huge losses, it had to increase the company's pension plan as it made investments for its fixed-income securities portfolio. GE is a leading provider of power generation and distribution products, a key player in one major electrical utility company, and has seen its stock price soar as a result.

By Friday's close, the company had a lower stock price of $39.21. "GE's strong quarterly financial condition</wm> gave the company high confidence in its second and fourth quarter earnings," said a company official. "Now