The JPMorgan $2 billion-trading-loss story is nearly a week old, and the news has predictably gone through the various spin cycles of the political right and left. Initially, progressives pounced on the loss as reason to …
JPMorgan
Facebook Wants to Connect with You After All
Facebook is connecting with Mom and Pop. The world’s most popular social media site has added an online trading firm to group of firms underwriting its IPO — and is serving up a video for potential investors that might well have …
Big Banks Accused of Manipulating Key Interest Rates
Just what banking industry needs – another scandal. The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Canada’s Competition Bureau is investigating several multinational banks regarding allegations that traders attempted to manipulate a key benchmark interest rate that is used to set prices on a wide array of financial products from …
Three Cheers and Three Jeers for $25 Billion Foreclosure Settlement
A key step was taken yesterday in moving the country beyond the housing crisis, a crisis that triggered the worst recession in decades and whose lingering effects continue to hinder the nation’s nascent recovery. The deal, which …
White House Announces $25 Billion Mortgage Settlement
This post was updated at 1:25pm
It’s been a long slog, but government officials and representatives from major U.S. banks have come to terms on a settlement that would put an end to federal and state investigations into …
At least some banks are losing money
First Goldman Sachs reports earnings of $3.2 billion for the quarter. But then, a few minutes later, Citigroup tells the world that it sort of made a little money but also sort of lost a lot of money (that is, it reported net income of $101 million, but said that, after dividends to preferred shareholders and its exchange of the …
Retail sales down. JPMorgan profits up. Wall Street pay up. Hmmmm
The headlines this morning were a catchy juxtaposition: “Retail sales drop on fall in autos.” “JPMorgan profits surge six fold.” Oh, and “Wall Street on track to award record pay.”
The retail sales decline was actually a just a knock-on effect of the expiration of cash for clunkers. Retail sales excluding autos were up 0.5% on the …