Shares of GE, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rose 30 cents, or 1.3 percent, to end at $23.90.

"We expect GE will incur a $1 billion to $2 billion pre-tax charge for incremental loss estimates at ERC ... and primarily for restructuring at Aircraft Engines and Plastics," wrote analyst John Lynch of Merrill Lynch. "Further losses may also be incurred at GE Equity. We also think that a $2 billion equity infusion into GE Capital is likely," he added.

A spokesman at Fairfield, Conn.-based GE declined to comment. The analyst meeting will be webcast.

The analyst meeting comes at a critical time for the industrial conglomerate, whose share price has tumbled around 40 percent so far this year amid worries about the reinsurance unit's loss exposure and GE's ability to grow the business in a slowing economy.

At Prudential Financial, analyst Nicholas Heymann thinks GE will resolve the reinsurer's problems once and for all by taking a "final reserve of at least $1 billion but likely not more than $2 billion."

Employer's Re, a unit of GE Capital, is the world's fourth-largest reinsurer with over $9 billion in annual revenues.

Reinsurer woes

Its problems have derived from claims against the company from a variety of catastrophes such as the recent floods in Europe. Moreover, GE has had to pour additional resources into the company as a hedge against potential claims arising from several lines of reinsurance that ERC entered in the late 1990s, said Heymann.

The reinsurer has also been in the headlines following published reports that billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA: news, chart, profile) may be making a play for the company, though the $8 billion price tag has been an issue. Read archived story.

Prudential's Heymann says he believes GE eventually will sell the reinsurance unit.

While the reinsurance market is improving on the back of rising premiums following last year's terrorist attacks, it's also an unstable one for a company known for building a stable range of businesses. GE is in a wide variety of business, from aircraft engines and light bulbs to washing machines.

Heymann said GE likely would provide its earnings outlook for 2003 at the Thursday meeting with analysts.

He said in a research note that he expects GE to frame a target of anywhere from $1.65-$1.70 per share for next year -- up from reported levels this year and within the range of the $1.70 per share analysts forecast based on consensus estimates provided by Thomson/First Call.

Salomon Smith Barney analyst Jeffrey Sprague said it's possible GE CEO Jeff Immelt would attend the meeting given the significance of its restructuring efforts. However, he doesn't expect Immelt to outline the company's growth plans until December.

"The recent weakness in the stock gives Immelt the flexibility to move more quickly on portfolio changes he envisions to improve growth and returns," Sprague said. "We expect portfolio repositioning and growth plans to be the centerpiece of Immelt's December meeting with analysts."

GE unit to buy Jenbacher

In a separate item, General Electric's GE Power Systems unit announced plans to buy Austria's reciprocating gas engine supplier Jenbacher A.G.

Under terms of the agreement, the company will pay an undisclosed cash amount to acquire a controlling interest in Jenbacher from a group of major shareholders.

GE will then make a public tender offer of 17.43 euros per share ($17.63) for the remaining 4.5 million shares of the 10 million shares outstanding, a spokesman said.