GE Plunges Most in 11 Years as Madoff Accuser Slams Accounting

General Electric Co. tumbled the most since 2008 after a prominent financial examiner working with a short seller accused the company of “accounting fraud.” GE Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp called the claims “market manipulation -- pure and simple.”

Harry Markopolos, who had raised concerns over investment manager Bernie Madoff before his fraud was exposed, said GE will need to increase its insurance reserves immediately by $18.5 billion in cash -- plus an additional noncash charge of $10.5 billion when new accounting rules take effect. GE is also hiding a loss of more than $9 billion on its holdings in ...