Is General Electric a good investment?

If you make your money the old-fashioned way--buy and hold--GE's a very good investment. They combine a conservative approach to business with a lot of innovative products and services. Plus, their fingers are in so many pies they can survive a fairly severe downturn in one or two of their business units and still show a nice profit. If you prefer to churn your portfolio, stay far away from GE. Most of their business units are highly cyclical--which means their stock jumps up and down at a moment's notice. This stock will drive a short-term guy absolutely nuts...but if you're willing to buy this and just tuck it away you'll do well with it.