Has General Electric conquered the business cycle? According to the companies past three financial statements it appeared as if they have indeed done so. Looking at GE's 1996 Annual Report, Letter To Share Holders, the first phrase of the 14 page document was "In 1996, your Company had its best year ever." Companies such as GE spend millions if not billions of dollars per year to ensure they can include this nine-worded phrase in their Annual Report. Those few words affect the behavior of investors all over the world. To understand why a corporation would "manage earnings" one must first understand the reason a corporation exists. The Corporation is an abstract entity which so