WEATHER ALERT
Stock market today: Wall Street rises to close its latest record-setting week as banks jump
Read full article: Stock market today: Wall Street rises to close its latest record-setting week as banks jumpU.S. stocks rose to records as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and other big financial companies rallied on better-than-expected profit reports.
Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed after Dow sets a new record
Read full article: Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed after Dow sets a new recordAsian stocks are mixed as investors grappled with weak economic data from China and waited to see the outcome of a top Communist Party policy meeting in Beijing.
JPMorgan's Dimon hopes for soft landing for US economy but says stagflation is a possible scenario
Read full article: JPMorgan's Dimon hopes for soft landing for US economy but says stagflation is a possible scenarioJPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says he’s hopeful the Federal Reserve can bring down inflation without causing a recession but wouldn’t rule out more troubling possibilities, such as stagflation.
JPMorgan to pay $75 million on claims that it enabled Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operations
Read full article: JPMorgan to pay $75 million on claims that it enabled Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operationsJPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle claims that the bank enabled the sex trafficking acts committed by financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Citigroup says some predecessor companies likely saw indirect financial benefits from slavery
Read full article: Citigroup says some predecessor companies likely saw indirect financial benefits from slaverySome of the companies that formed what is now Citigroup likely benefitted financially from slavery in the 1800’s, the financial giant acknowledged Thursday, an admission that comes at a time when numerous institutions are re-examining their historic roots and the roles they played in slavery in the U.S. In research conducted last year, Citi found that none of its predecessor companies directly purchased, sold, or held slaves.
Stock market today: A raucous week for Wall Street closes with a quiet, mixed finish
Read full article: Stock market today: A raucous week for Wall Street closes with a quiet, mixed finishAnother winning week for Wall Street drifted to a quiet close following profit reports from several big U.S. companies that topped expectations.
Jeffrey Epstein victims settle sex trafficking lawsuit against JPMorgan for $290 million
Read full article: Jeffrey Epstein victims settle sex trafficking lawsuit against JPMorgan for $290 millionJPMorgan Chase announced a tentative settlement with the sex victims of financier Jeffrey Epstein, the bank said Monday, which had accused the bank of being the financial conduit that Epstein used to pay off his victims for several years.
JPMorgan Chase defends lawsuit by blaming US Virgin Islands for Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes
Read full article: JPMorgan Chase defends lawsuit by blaming US Virgin Islands for Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimesJPMorgan Chase is defending itself against a lawsuit by the U.S. Virgin Islands accusing it of empowering Jeffrey Epstein to abuse teenage girls.
US Virgin Islands seeks to subpoena Elon Musk in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit
Read full article: US Virgin Islands seeks to subpoena Elon Musk in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuitThe government of the U.S. Virgin Islands is asking a federal judge to help it serve billionaire Elon Musk with a subpoena for documents in its lawsuit seeking to hold JPMorgan Chase liable for sex trafficking acts committed by businessman Jeffrey Epstein.
First Republic Bank seized, sold in fire sale to JPMorgan
Read full article: First Republic Bank seized, sold in fire sale to JPMorganRegulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday, making it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, and promptly sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase in a bid to stop further banking turmoil that has dominated the first half of this year.
JPMorgan sues former exec over ties to Epstein sex abuse
Read full article: JPMorgan sues former exec over ties to Epstein sex abuseJPMorgan Chase has sued its former executive Jes Staley, alleging that he aided in hiding Jeffrey Epstein’s yearslong sex abuse and trafficking in order to keep the financier as a client.
Bank of America profits rise; bank warns of slowing economy
Read full article: Bank of America profits rise; bank warns of slowing economyBank of America says its fourth-quarter profits rose slightly from a year ago, as higher credit costs and potentially bad loans more than offset a sharp rise in interest revenue.
US Virgin Islands fires attorney general in Epstein cases
Read full article: US Virgin Islands fires attorney general in Epstein casesThe governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands has fired the attorney general of the U.S. territory who led a lengthy legal case against disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that resulted in a $105 million settlement.
JPMorgan 2Q profit drops; CEO warns of economic challenges
Read full article: JPMorgan 2Q profit drops; CEO warns of economic challengesProfits at JPMorgan Chase fell by 28% in the second quarter, as the bank tries to navigate an economy that’s showing strength in many areas but losing steam as interest rates continue to rise.
Bank of America Q1 profits fall 12%, much less than rivals
Read full article: Bank of America Q1 profits fall 12%, much less than rivalsBank of America posted a 12% decline in first-quarter profits from a year earlier, a decline that was much less than the ones its rivals had reported the previous week.
Big bank profits decline as deal-making, mortgages slow
Read full article: Big bank profits decline as deal-making, mortgages slowFour big banks reported noticeable declines in their first quarter profits on Thursday, as the volatile markets and war in Ukraine caused dealmaking to dry up and a slowdown in the housing market caused the mortgage market to slow.
JPMorgan profits drop 42%, bank writes down Russian assets
Read full article: JPMorgan profits drop 42%, bank writes down Russian assetsJPMorgan Chase said its first quarter profits dropped by 42% from last year, partly because the bank had to write down nearly $1.5 billion in assets due to higher inflation and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
JPMorgan's 3Q profits rise, but low rates weigh on revenue
Read full article: JPMorgan's 3Q profits rise, but low rates weigh on revenueJPMorgan Chase says profits rose 24% in the third quarter, largely driven by one-time items that boosted its results, as the bank struggled to grow revenues with interest rates at near-zero levels.
JPMorgan's 2Q profits more than double, beating expectations
Read full article: JPMorgan's 2Q profits more than double, beating expectationsJPMorgan Chase says its second quarter profits more than doubled from a year ago — a reflection of the improving global economy and fewer bad loans on its balance sheet.
Freed from COVID restrictions, big US banks hike dividends
Read full article: Freed from COVID restrictions, big US banks hike dividendsRecently freed from regulators’ coronavirus restrictions, the largest U.S. banks have announced plans to return tens of billions of dollars to their shareholders over the next year in the form of dividends and stock buybacks.
Bank of America profit doubles in 1Q to $8.1 billion
Read full article: Bank of America profit doubles in 1Q to $8.1 billionBank of America’s profits doubled in the first quarter, the bank said Thursday, as the improving economy allowed it to release billions from its loan-loss reserves that it originally set aside in the early days of the pandemic.
Banks to see big profits as COVID 'bad' loans become 'good'
Read full article: Banks to see big profits as COVID 'bad' loans become 'good'The nation’s largest banks are expected to report big profits for the first quarter amid renewed confidence that pandemic-battered consumers and businesses can repay their debts and start borrowing again.
Asian stock markets advance after new Wall St high
Read full article: Asian stock markets advance after new Wall St highAsian stock markets have risen after Wall Street hit a record high following an uptick in U.S. inflation and a order by regulators to suspend use of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine.
Here’s when Wells Fargo and Chase bank customers can expect their stimulus payments
Read full article: Here’s when Wells Fargo and Chase bank customers can expect their stimulus paymentsORLANDO, Fla. – Wells Fargo and Chase bank customers will not receive their stimulus payments until mid-week at the earliest. Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase told customers the $1,400 direct payments would not be processed until at least Wednesday, drawing the anger of many, especially since some people started receiving their money on Friday. Wells Fargo said it would provide all of the direct deposits “according to the effective date provided by the U.S. Treasury,” and added that it’s not holding onto the money. In a statement to FOX Business, Wells Fargo spokesperson Jim Seitz said the government will release the money in multiple phases, meaning not everyone will receive their check at the same time. AdIndividuals can again check the status of their stimulus checks via the IRS’s “Get My Payment” tool.
Optimistic banks start moving 'bad' loans back to 'good'
Read full article: Optimistic banks start moving 'bad' loans back to 'good'(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The pandemic and recession aren’t over by a long shot, but banks are feeling optimistic enough to start taking potentially “bad” loans off their books and move them back into the “good” pile. Citigroup had a similar story, releasing $1.5 billion of its loan-loss reserves that it had set aside earlier last year. Still, those amounts are just a fraction of the tens of billions of dollars into their so-called loan-loss reserves to cover potentially bad loans in the first months of the pandemic. In releasing funds from loan-loss reserves, the banks cited the improvement in the economy. JPMorgan still has more than $30 billion tied up in its loan-loss reserves, and banks like Citi and Wells have similar figures on their balance sheets.
'More people may die': Biden urges Trump to aid transition
Read full article: 'More people may die': Biden urges Trump to aid transition“More people may die if we don’t coordinate,” Biden told reporters during a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware. The Trump administration is working on its own distribution plan, while Biden’s chief of staff indicated his transition team will proceed with their own planning separately because of the obstruction. Last week, a larger group of Republicans in Congress called on the Trump administration to allow Biden to begin receiving national security briefings. Since defeating Trump, Biden has devoted most of his public remarks to encouraging Americans to wear masks and embrace social distancing measures. But on whether Biden should receive coronavirus briefings, many of Trump's allies on Capitol Hill remained dug in.
Bank profits remain resilient despite lingering pandemic
Read full article: Bank profits remain resilient despite lingering pandemicIn the early months of the U.S. pandemic, banks set aside tens of billions of dollars to cover losses that could come from loans that were suddenly going bad. On top of the stimulus, banks entered into this pandemic the healthiest they’ve been in years and certainly healthier than they were before the financial crisis of 2008. JPMorgan set aside $611 million to cover potentially bad loans in the third quarter, a fraction of the $10.47 billion the bank set aside to cover bad loans in the second quarter. On Wednesday, Bank of America said it set aside $1.4 billion to cover potentially bad loans, far less than the $5.1 billion it set aside three months earlier. Most of the worry seems to reflect investors' uncertainty about whether banks will have to set aside additional billions in the future.
Bank of America profit falls 15.6% in third quarter
Read full article: Bank of America profit falls 15.6% in third quarterCHARLOTTE, N.C. – Consumer banking giant Bank of America says third-quarter profit declined 15.6% from a year earlier, but saw less need to put aside money to cover potentially bad loans, citing improvements in the U.S. economy. The North Carolina-based bank said Wednesday that it earned a profit of $4.88 billion, or 51 cents per share, down from a profit of $5.78 billion, or 56 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. BofA had $1.4 billion in loan-loss reserves in the third quarter, down from the $5.1 billion it set aside in the second quarter. BofA’s loan-loss reserves were higher than JPMorgan's, which only set aside $611 million in the quarter, but less than the $2.26 billion that Citigroup had set aside. The bank’s net interest yield — a measurement of how much profit the bank is earning on the loans it approved — was 1.72% in the quarter, down from 2.41% a year earlier.
JPMorgan, Citi profits improve amid signs of recovery
Read full article: JPMorgan, Citi profits improve amid signs of recoveryBoth Citi and JPMorgan set aside fewer funds to cover potentially bad loans, contributing to the improvement in their third-quarter results. JPMorgan had $611 million in loan loss provisions this quarter, a fraction of the $10.47 billion the bank set aside in the second quarter. Meanwhile Citigroup’s provision for credit losses was $2.26 billion in the third quarter compared to $7.9 billion the quarter before. Citi said its third-quarter net income fell to $3.23 billion from $4.91 billion a year earlier. JPMorgan and Citi were the first of the major banks to report its results this week.
JPMorgan puts $30B toward fixing banking's 'systemic racism'
Read full article: JPMorgan puts $30B toward fixing banking's 'systemic racism'CHARLOTTE, N.C. – JPMorgan Chase said Thursday it will extend billions in loans to Black and Latino homebuyers and small business owners in an expanded effort toward fixing what the bank calls “systemic racism” in the country’s economic system. “Systemic racism is a tragic part of America’s history,” said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in a statement. Citigroup announced last month it is committing $1 billion toward closing “the racial wealth gap” in the United States, including $550 million toward homeownership programs for racial minorities. He noted that there’s a 30% gap between Black and white homeownership, amounting to about 4.5 million households. JPMorgan was one of 27 major New York-based companies that joined a program to recruit 100,000 workers from the city's low-income, predominately Black, Latino and Asian communities over the next 10 years.
Some JPMorgan traders catch COVID as bank reopens offices
Read full article: Some JPMorgan traders catch COVID as bank reopens officesNEW YORK – A number of JPMorgan Chase traders have been sent home after employees tested positive for COVID-19, less than a week into the bank's push to start bringing its workers physically back into the office. New York-based JPMorgan has been insisting its traders and senior management return to their physical offices, setting a required start date of Sept. 21. Marchiony declined to say whether JPMorgan would continue its push to reopen the offices or what percentage of the its workforce of about 257,000 was now working physically in branches and offices. Few other banks or financial companies had been as insistent as JPMorgan to return its workers to the office. For example, American Express, which has a substantial presence in New York City like JPMorgan, announced that all its employees could continue to work remotely until July 2021.
US consumer spending up 5.6%, but virus could stall gains
Read full article: US consumer spending up 5.6%, but virus could stall gainsThe number of laid-off Americans who have applied for unemployment benefits has topped 1 million for 19 straight weeks. The $1,200 checks have been largely spent, though, and the $600 in unemployment benefits is expiring. Doing so would weaken spending by consumers, the primary driver of the economy. Unemployed Americans have been receiving both state unemployment aid and $600 a week in additional benefits from the federal government. The federal aid has pumped nearly $20 billion a week into the economy and enabled many of the unemployed to stay afloat.
Banks set aside billions, bracing for more economic pain
Read full article: Banks set aside billions, bracing for more economic painThanks largely to the funds set aside for bad loans, JPMorgan's profit fell by half in the April-June quarter, Citigroup's sank about 70% and Wells Fargo reported its first quarterly loss since the financial crisis of 2008. In its second-quarter results, JPMorgan said it set aside $10.5 billion to cover potentially bad loans. Thats on top of the $8.3 billion the bank set aside in April, when the pandemic was only just starting to impact the U.S. economy. Citi, which is heavily exposed in credit cards, set aside an additional $7.9 billion to cover potentially bad loans. Wells Fargo, which did not set aside as much money as its peers in April, had to play catch up this quarter, setting aside $8.4 billion to cover potentially bad loans.