Via Timesunion

By Larry Rulison

SCHENECTADY – General Electric Co.’s $31 billion pension problem could make its breakup harder than expected. Bloomberg and other news outlets have been reporting that GE has a $31 billion pension shortfall that is becoming a concern for new CEO John Flannery as he decides how to maximize GE for shareholders, which could lead to the spin-off of some units into standalone public companies to maximize their value.