NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - GE Capital sold $11 billion in global bonds Wednesday, the second-biggest U.S. issue ever as the company sought to lock in low financing costs before the economy recovers.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based unit of GE (GE: Research, Estimates), the conglomerate whose operations include financial services, aerospace, NBC television and the making of light bulbs, nearly doubled its sale from $6 billion.

GE's stock shed $1.10 to $40 in New York Stock Exchange trading Wednesday.

The $11 billion bond sale is second only to WorldCom Inc.'s (WCOM: down $0.54 to $7.39, Research, Estimates) multi-currency $11.9 billion sale last May, and the largest ever of dollar-denominated bonds. WorldCom's sale included $10.1 billion of dollar bonds.

"Absolute yield levels are at historical lows, and investor demand for long-term debt from high quality issuers is very strong," said GE Capital spokeswoman Marissa Moretti.

The sale comes one month after GE Capital sold $3.5 billion of notes, and six days after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan declared a U.S. economic recovery "well under way." It also comes five days after GE released an expanded annual report to soothe investors who have been jittery about sprawling companies with complicated accounting, such as Enron Corp. (ENE: Research, Estimates) and Tyco International Ltd (TYC: down $0.36 to $34.64, Research, Estimates).

Moretti said "triple-A" rated GE Capital will use proceeds for general corporate purposes, including replacing existing debt "in support of asset growth." J.P. Morgan, Lehman Brothers Inc. and Salomon Smith Barney arranged the sale.

Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Michael Regan said the move suggests GE Capital might have been taking advantage of the lower rates.

Others agreed.

Stephen Mahoney, who invests $4 billion in bonds for Glenmede Trust Co. in Philadelphia, told Reuters Wednesday. "If I were a corporate treasurer, it's a very smart move. Corporate treasurers are deciding this may be the last opportunity to fund their business at low interest rate levels."

But not everyone was cheered by the news. Tim Doubek, a portfolio manager at American Express Asset Management in Minneapolis, said the bonds could only hurt investors if negative news persists about accounting, corporate earnings and management.

"There's absolutely no upside in these bonds, in our opinion," he said.

GE Capital plans to sell:

• $4 billion, up from $2 billion that had been expected, of three-year floating-rate notes yielding 0.125 percentage point more than three-month the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, which is now 1.947 percent;
• $2 billion, up from $1 billion, of five-year notes yielding 0.8 percentage point more than five-year U.S. Treasurys, which now yield 4.642 percent, and
• $5 billion, up from $3 billion, of 30-year bonds yielding 1.08 to 1.1 percentage points more than 30-year Treasuries, which now yield 5.75 percent.

-- from staff and wire reports.