Market Updates: General Electric (NYSE:GE), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS)

The second-quarter results showed that challenges remain for the economy and General Electric (NYSE:GE), one of the world’s largest industrial and financial companies. Cost cuts and an improved financial business helped General Electric Co. post its first increase in quarterly profit since 2007, but sales remained sluggish for the industrial giant. Overall revenue fell 4 percent, in part because GE is shrinking the size of GE Capital, its financial arm. GE’s quarterly net income rose 16 percent to $3.0 billion, or 28 cents per share, up from $2.6 billion, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier. Net income was helped by cost cuts of nearly $3 billion. –Daily Finance Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) posted second-quarter net income of $3.12 billion, or 27 cents a share, down from $3.22…