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The New York Times reports that General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal invested $894 million to secure the broadcast rights for the Beijing Olympics and it expects to earn a $100 million profit. The Times also quotes CEO Jeff Immelt as saying that the benefits to GE are even greater -- including "$700 million worth of services it is providing for the Games and its long-term relationship with China, where it does more than $4 billion worth of business."

How did GE make a profit on its Olympics investment? The Times reports that it was lucky that no big protests or press censorship marred the games. And it negotiated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to schedule popular competitions -- such as swimming and gymnastics -- to coincide with prime time slots and to including much more Internet and on mobile device events streaming.

The Games have attracted enormous audiences. According to the Times, "the Games have drawn an average audience of about 30 million a night on NBC itself, millions more on NBC's cable channels, 30 million unique visitors to NBC's Olympics Web site, 6.3 million shared videos from the coverage streamed on the site."

Is it the thrill of victory to hear the sound of one hand clapping?

Advertisers who paid big bucks for Olympics sponsorships are wondering the same thing. According to the Wall Street Journal, companies are angry that access to the Olympic Green, which is the main focal point of most games, has been "strictly limited" to people with hard-to-get tickets to the venues.

"A small line of people stood outside the The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) exhibit, where dry ice and the sound of gurgling soda pop drifted out," the paper said. "Meanwhile, a giant restaurant erected by McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) at the end of the Green has been far from packed."

This, of course, could be a huge disaster for the International Olympic Committee, which counts on corporate funding to fund the games. This could also hurt television advertising by General Electric Company (NYSE: GE)'s NBC Universal division, because televised shots of half-empty stadiums may make whatever sporting event they are showing seem lame.

Overall, though, the games are attracting huge audiences worldwide because of compelling stories such as swimmer Michael Phelps' quest for Olympic immortality. It will be interesting to see if the viewership trails off once the swimming competition ends.

Advertisers are going to take note of this for when the IOC comes calling for the London games in 2012.

This post is one in a series on prominent company nicknames. See all 25, and share your thoughts and memories about The General below in the comments.

"The General" does not deserve its nickname any longer. Founded in 1908, General Motors (NYSE: GM) was the largest car company in the world for almost seven decades. It lost that distinction to Toyota (NYSE: TM) during the last year.

GM has 50% of the U.S. car market at one point. That is now down to 20%.

"The General" still maintains a number of the most successful brands in the world: Cadillac, Buick, Chevy, and Pontiac. Years of neglect have pushed the company into a position where it does not make competitive cars in its home market. It greatest current sales successes are in the Chinese market and Latin America.

In 1955, "The General" was the No.1 company in the Fortune 500. It held that position until 2000.

Alongside General Electric (NYSE: GE), GM is probably the most important American corporation of the last 100 years. That won't be true going forward.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

This post is one in a series on prominent company nicknames. See all 25, and share your thoughts and memories about the Peacock Network below in the comments.

Perhaps more visually recognizable than any other television symbol today, NBC's colorful peacock logo and nickname encompass far more depth and history than simply having been a tool of recognition for NBC Television, subsidiary of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE). Beyond simply identifying network programs in the age when NBC and CBS began applying the color palette to broadcast television, NBC's peacock was charged with the awesome task of informing and convincing the parents of the baby boomer generation that color television had arrived, it was good, and they wanted it. The peacock was assigned the monumental task of engaging the public. Indeed, it has performed that job to perfection.

I grew up fully addicted to television, and NBC's peacock long heralded the appearance of many of my favorite shows. Bonanza, NBC's first serious success in color broadcast television, was a weekly treat for me, as it was for millions of other enchanted TV viewers. Accordingly, by the time color television promotion had begun to move consumers to purchase the new color television sets, which sold for approximately $1,000 initially, the NBC peacock, which had begun its glorious life as a simple static image, learned how to fan its tail feathers in a motion indicative of the sweeping changes the television age would come to initiate.

Until man orbited the earth, television was perhaps the single greatest technological achievement since Henry Ford had put automobiles into mass production. Since the coming of color television in 1956, the NBC peacock has been a television communications fixture, and NBC television is respectfully referred to as "The Peacock Network" by people and publications throughout the industry. It can be said that very few other company logos have stood as representative for changes that have affected so many people, so very deeply, for such a long time.

Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Dark Knight will not rest. According to Boxofficemojo, the superhero flick finished in first place yet again over the weekend. It grossed an estimated $26 million at domestic theaters. Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Pineapple Express put forth a valiant effort to beat the Bat, but it came up a little short. That film came in second with roughly $22 million for the three-day weekend. It debuted on Wednesday, and its total gross to date is around $40 million. Sony was smart in opening it early so that it might gain some positive word of mouth for the weekend. Any movie going up against Dark Knight needs whatever assist it can get. Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow are becoming quite the Hollywood kings of R-rated youth-targeted comedies, and Pineapple Express will only serve to further cement their dominion in Tinsel Town.

Coming in third was The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, distributed by General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal. The fantasy flick took in $16 million and its total tally stands at $70 million. An okay performance, but nothing special. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 from Time Warner was in fourth place with a $10.7 million take. That wasn't too good for a film that I thought had a lot of buzz, but the budget on the project isn't too steep at under $30 million, so maybe this one will do all right. Sony's Step Brothers took hold of fifth position. Disney (NYSE: DIS) continues to do horribly with its bomb Swing Vote. It dropped to ninth place.

So Time Warner's studio division will have the success of The Dark Knight to look forward to in future quarters as the movie, which now has over $440 million to its credit, progresses through home video and other ancillary channels. Disney will not have anything to look forward to from Swing Vote. And here's something else for Time Warner: Star Wars: The Clone Wars opens August 15. Time Warner will bring the cartoon to the silver screen ahead of the animated TV series that is set to debut later on. I think Clone Wars will surprise everyone by doing better than expected. The merchandise from Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is out in the marketplace now pushing George Lucas' new chapter in his famous franchise. May the Force be with the multiplex.

Disclosure: I own Disney and GE; positions can change at any time.

What Happened to Safe Haven Stocks?
When the markets hit a rough patch, many investors turn to 'safe' stocks for shelter. Stocks like Wal-Mart, GE, Exxon Mobil, Google etc. You would think these big name stocks can weather the market storms of late, but in fact have gotten caught and underperformed the Dow over the past quarter. They are hardly "safe" for investors who want to preserve capital in a bad market. If these firms can't post promising results, not many companies can.
What Happened to Safe Haven Stocks? - 24/7WallSt.

Cash-Strapped States Quicker to Seize Unused Accounts
Faced with swelling budget deficits, a growing number of states are taking control of unclaimed property -- such as bank accounts and traveler's checks -- sooner. Generally, states can seize abandoned property if the owners fail to claim it after a specified period that varies by state. People should track their bank accounts and other assets closely. ING, which turned over $3.8 million to states last year, is warning customers that states can seize accounts if there's no activity for a certain period, often three to five years.
Cash-strapped states quicker to seize unused accounts - USATODAY.com

Maybe my pessimism about the ratings for Olympics was premature.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "More viewers tuned in to watch the first two prime-time Olympics telecasts on General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE)'s NBC network than any summer Games in a decade -- even as the Games received record attention on the Internet."

My wife has offered a plausible theory about this performance: people are curious about China and are watching the Olympics because they can not afford other forms of entertainment because of high gas prices. I'm willing to give swimmer Michael Phelps his due as well. Plus, the only other sport competing for the viewer's attention is baseball. Pro football training camps are in full swing as well. The Olympics would be crushed if they occurred during football season or during "American Idol." Americans do have their priorities.

Friday's opening night ceremony attracted 34,2 million viewers, up 35% from the last summer games, according to the paper. I feel bad I missed it because it seems to have been very cool.

Keep in mind that General Electric still may face a tough slog in recouping its $894 million investment in the U.S. broadcast rights. Make goods, free commercial time, are still a possibility if the ratings go south.

The company's Olympic dreams, though, will do little to help the company's suffering shareholders which raises the question of why GE still owns NBC Universal.

Maybe a good Olympics will encourage Chief Executive Jeff Immelt to sell or spin-off the media business which is totally unrelated to the rest of the conglomerate.

U.S. stock futures were a little higher this morning following Friday's rally. Oil futures have been rising again due to the Russian-Georgian conflict and the dollar retracted from the five-month high set Friday. Global markets were mostly higher although China's hit a 19-month low.

Waste Management (NYSE: WMI) is expected to raise its unsolicited cash offer for rival Republic Services (NYSE: RSG) by nearly 10% to $6.73 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and two unions agreed on a new three-year contract Sunday, averting a possible strike of 65,000 workers. The new contract provides 10.5% wage increases and changes in retirement benefits.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) reported an 8% decline in second-quarter profit after the market close Friday. The investment group attributed the decline to fewer insurance premiums and $1 billion in unrealized derivative losses.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) may be close to selling its rail car leading division to GATX Corp. (NYSE: GMT). According to Bloomberg, GATX plans to "invest more aggressively" during a financial slowdown.

While the unloading of the division may help GE begin its process of moving slow-growing divisions out of its portfolio, it is likely to be seen on Wall Street as a minor deal and part of a process that is taking much to long. GE has several much larger businesses that drag on its earnings. Those include NBC Universal, the company's industrial division, and its medical supply operations.

GE's resistance to act more quickly to divest operations that no longer help accelerate EPS growth is one of the great business mysteries of the last four or five year. The company's stock still trades well below its 52-week high of $42.15.

GE knows what Wall Street wants, but it appears that the company simply does not care.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Will General Electric Company (NYSE: GE)'s NBC Universal experience the "thrill of victory" or the "agony of defeat" from the Summer Olympics in China? Odds are fairly good that the multimedia extravaganza may not be that thrilling to GE's bottom line.

Yesterday, the under-performing conglomerate announced that it had sold $1 billion in advertising for the games.

"We've always said that the Olympics is one of the most powerful properties in all of television," said Seth Winter, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing NBC Sports & Olympics, said in a press release. "While we are thrilled with this milestone, we still expect to write more business as the Games begin and great stories continue to evolve."

Of course, such gushing is to be expected from an ad sales guy. But one thing that often gets forgotten when people write about television advertising is that commercial time is sold based on the network guaranteeing that a certain number of viewers will watch the show. If the audience does not materialize, the network has to give what's known as a make-good: usually free commercials on another show. The viewer numbers NBC has to hit are a closely guarded secret.

If Barack Obama is receiving advice from "my pal Warren" then he must not be listening. There is no way that Warren Buffett, the national debt hawk, would support Obama's stupid idea of giving another $1,000 back to every family in America. It is reported that he would pay for this by creating a windfall profit tax on oil companies.

This give-away program is an attempt to buy votes plain and simple. It would add to the national debt, discourage oil companies from investing and worse it would handicap American companies more than others and mortgage more of our children's futures.

The last thing the the people of the United States need is more deficit spending. If we did tax oil companies, which I am against, I would only support using the funds for expanding education, research and development in science and engineering with the goal of maintaining our waning leadership in technology.

Tyco International (NYSE: TYC) is a leading provider of security products and services, fire protection and detection products and services, valves and controls, and other industrial products. The firm has operations in more than 60 countries, employing 118,000 worldwide. Customers include commercial and shipping enterprises, governmental entities, military forces, transportation systems, original equipment manufacturers, engineering contractors and homeowners. General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) are major competitors.

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported Q3 EPS of 88 cents and revenues of $5.21 billion. Analysts had been expecting 67 cents and $5.15 billion. Each of the firm's five divisions posted double-digit increases in operating income. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $2.97-$2.99 ($2.76 consensus).

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), a competitor of media entities such as Disney (NYSE: DIS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Viacom (NYSE: VIA) CBS (NYSE: CBS), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, reported its Q4 and full-year numbers on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the stock received an after-hours yawn from investors. The share price didn't move much at all, about a nickel (the stock was up almost 5% on the day, however). The stats seemed pretty good in an overall sense, but they weren't overly compelling either, and I'm not sure I'd want to enter a position in News Corp. at the moment due to questions about the softening advertising market for television stations. But let's look at the data.

For the quarter, revenues increased over 16% and earnings per diluted share jumped over 50% to $0.43. There were, however, some asset gains thrown into that number. News Corp. likes to focus on operating income, and that metric grew 21% in Q4. Every operating segment, except for television, saw an increase in its profits. For the full year, revenues increased 15% and earnings per diluted share soared almost 68% to $1.81. Again, operating income gives a better account of performance due to the asset transactions affecting the bottom line, and here we see the growth is closer to 21%. For the full year, every operating segment saw growth.

News Corp.'s studio and cable divisions are doing well, and like I said, in a general sense, this was a good report. Plus, Fox Interactive Media saw its top line expand by well over 50%, driven by MySpace. But Rupert Murdoch has expressed some caution in terms of growth going forward. According to this article, he sees growth ahead, but it won't be of the stellar variety. And I'll add that operational cash flow for the year was down over 4%. I'd rather see that metric rise on a twelve-month basis. News Corp.'s shares seem cheap to me, but I don't feel compelled at this point to start a position. Given the current economic climate, I'd rather sit on the sidelines and wait for some more data.

Disclosure: I own Disney and GE; positions can change at any time.

Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) reported earnings for the second quarter on Tuesday, and as one might imagine, even though the numbers were solid, the stock sold off. Hey, this is Marvel we're talking about here. Its shares can be volatile little suckers. They're used as trading instruments by many. I'm even questioning if I should have trimmed my position before the report. As I write this at 2 pm, the stock is off by almost 9%. Let's see what the stats tell us.

The top line rose by 55% to $156.9 million. The bottom line increased by a whopping 73% to $0.59 per diluted share. Talk about hulking up! According to Earnings.com, the call was for $0.45 per share. That's a $0.14 beat, and that freakin' rules.

As one might imagine, Iron Man, which was distributed by Viacom (NYSE: VIA), and The Incredible Hulk, placed in theaters by General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal, helped drive the results. The films gave Marvel some nice licensing revenues and foreign pre-sale monies. There were no contributions from the box-office side of things yet. Marvel will certainly see a good boost to its revenues if, down the line, the home-video release of the projects sell well (which I think they will). Judging from statements made in the conference call (transcribed at Seeking Alpha), we'll see most of the ancillary benefit from the movies next year. I was disappointed to see that publishing was weak (there were some tough comps there), but I'll tell you what was pretty strong: cash flow. Net cash from operations for the last six months more than doubled to over $68 million. And I love cash.

Infrastructure assets can be stable, long-term investments, and as a result, private equity firms are certainly interested.

In fact, TPG has joined Global Infrastructure Partners – a joint venture of Credit Suisse and GE Infrastructure (NYSE: GE) – to make a preliminary $6.5 billion bid (when you include the debt load) for Asciano, a port and rails infrastructure firm based in Australia.

Actually, TPG has had a mixed performance with Australian deals. For example, the firm was unable to pull off its $11.1 billion buyout of Qantas.

Yet, now the markets are much different, and infrastructure operations definitely need cash – which is tough to get in the current credit crunch.

Asciano has about 8,000 employees and generates $2.5 billion in revenues. Some of its key assets include bulk export facilities, four leading container terminals, Stevedoring equipment and rail operations for freight and commodities. There are also joint ventures, such as Patrick Autocare (processing, storage and distribution of motor vehicles).

Of course, Ascaino has already rejected the buyout offer, but it's going to be tough to get a much higher bid, especially in light of the company's heavy debt load and weak operational performance over the past year.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.