Brokers Bail on Wall Street

Market soars as investment profits give bank strong 3rd quarter

(AP) - JPMorgan Chase reported strong third-quarter earnings today as its thriving investment banking business more than offset rising consumer loan losses that the bank warned would continue. The company, the first of the big banks to report, showed a $3.59 billion profit, or 82 cents per share. But it also roughly doubled the amount of money it set aside for failed home and credit card loans in the quarter, saying credit losses would remain high "for the foreseeable future." More»

Risk-loving market riders experience new heyday

(NEWSER) - Some traders like to buy and hold positions based on rational market fundamentals. Then there’s Peter Milman, who’s constantly making—or losing—tens of thousands of dollars, perched over his computer making a furious stream of bets like an arcade pinball wizard. Day traders like Milman are having their greatest renaissance since their tech bubble heyday, New York reports, basking in the incredible market volatility the crisis has brought with it. More»

It's been a bumper year for BS from the big banks, writes Nomi Prins

(NEWSER) - As Wall Street happily trots off into 2009's sunset, same old bad habits in tow, things aren't looking so hot on Main Street—no matter the crocks the bankers sold us, writes Nomi Prins at AlterNet . Here's some of Wall Street's finest whoppers of the year.

• The economy has improved. "Sure—if you work at Goldman Sachs or had an affair with Tiger Woods," writes Prins. For the rest of us, unemployment is in double digits and next year is looking bleak.

Trade group mounts effort to counter 'populist overreaction'

(NEWSER) - Wall Street’s top trade group is fighting to fix its image amid what it calls a “populist overreaction” to the financial crisis, Bloomberg reports. Top aides to former Treasury secretary Henry Paulson are leading the “city-by-city, grassroots” campaign focused on politicians and the media. The securities industry “must be perceived as part of the solution,” say trade-group documents. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks plunged at the open, as banks sold shares to raise capital, and consumer and commodity stocks took a pounding, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow was down 140, the Nasdaq down 1.8% and the S&P off 2.1. Oil producers were hit hard as crude fell blow $58 a barrel, while Bank of America and Morgan Stanley led financials south, falling 3% and 2% respectively. More»