Just as your pulse is checked during a routine physical, free cash flow is used as an indicator of a company's health. It equals the cash brought in from operations minus the money needed to pay the bills. Think about leftover money in your checking account after you pay this month's bills.

Investors and analysts see this leftover money as a gauge of a company's ability to perform. It is available for transactions such as handing out dividends and working on new products.

Some argue free cash flow is wrongly overshadowed by the emphasis often placed on earnings. Earnings numbers can be manipulated and don't always tell the whole story -- and earnings don't mean much if there's nothing left over after a company pays its expenses. Even if you bring in a six-figure salary, but no money left after paying the bills, are you in great financial shape?

You don't have to be Einstein to figure out free cash flow. To calculate the number, subtract the company's expenditures and dividends from its operating cash flow.

If the free cash flow is written in red ink, it doesn't necessarily signal curtains. This is common for young companies looking to grow. It also could be a result of heavy investments, which in the long run could be worth a standing ovation.

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

General Dynamics to Christen New Hampshire, U.S. Navy's Most-Advanced Submarine

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GROTON, Conn., June 18, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----General Dynamics Electric Boat will christen New Hampshire (SSN-778), the U.S. Navy's newest and most advanced nuclear attack submarine, at a ceremony at its shipyard here on Saturday, June 21, at 11 a.m. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

Cheryl McGuinness of Portsmouth, N.H., is the ship's sponsor. Mrs. McGuinness lost her husband, Tom McGuinness, on September 11, 2001, in the World Trade Center attacks. He was the co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, which was flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

The event's principal speaker is Adm. Kirkland H. Donald, director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion. Cmdr. Michael J. Stevens, a 1990 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is the ship's commanding officer.

The New Hampshire is the fifth ship of the Virginia class, the first U.S. Navy combatants designed for the post-Cold War era. Unobtrusive, non-provocative and connected with land, air, sea and space-based assets, New Hampshire and the other Virginia-class submarines are equipped to wage multi-dimensional warfare around the globe, providing the U.S. Navy with continued dominance in coastal waters or the open ocean.

With its construction partner Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, General Dynamics has contracts to build a total of 10 Virginia-class ships; 30 ships are planned altogether.

A live video and audio webcast of the New Hampshire christening will be accessible online at: http://www.gdeb.com. Webcast coverage will begin Saturday at 10:30 a.m. EDT; the ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. and conclude at approximately 12:15 p.m. The program will be available for on-demand replay for one week, beginning at approximately 2:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 84,000 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.generaldynamics.com.

SOURCE General Dynamics Electric Boat

http://www.gdeb.com

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