General Electric underlined the struggle faced by US companies with a slowing economy and the credit squeeze on Tuesday when it announced profit forecasts well below Wall Street estimates and a shake-up of its US consumer finance unit.

The US conglomerate said it would sell a stake or the whole of its US credit card unit, which has been rocked by the liquidity squeeze and falling consumer confidence. GE moved to assuage investor fears over its ability to thrive in an economic downturn with an upbeat assessment of global growth and the announcement of a $15bn, three-year share buy-back.