JPMorgan Earns $3.6B, Despite Loan Losses

Commissions shrinking as investors turn away from stocks

(NEWSER) - A rising number of stock brokers are abandoning the industry as markets fall and commissions dry up, the Wall Street Journal reports. More brokers have already departed this year than in any of the last 15 years, and experts expect the exodus to continue as investors shift assets out of the market and into safer areas that pay little in commissions. More»

(NEWSER) - CEOs and investors have springs in their steps. After a week full of positive earnings reports, many now believe worst is over, the Wall Street Journal reports. Yesterday saw a slew of reports that matched or beat estimates, including Motorola, Goodyear, Sony, and Kellogg Co. The economy “has found bottom,” says Dow Chemical’s CEO, “but will be slow in recovering.” More»

(NEWSER) - JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank to repay TARP money, posted second-quarter earnings of $2.7 billion—smashing analysts' predictions with a 36% increase in profit. The bank became America's second-largest after hoovering up Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, and like Goldman Sachs it has used a boom in investment banking to offset lagging recovery in mortgage and credit markets. "This is a real tribute to Jamie Dimon, who's done a spectacular job in managing the firm through this difficult time," said one investor. More»

Financial types feel they're unfairly 'vilified' in crisis

(NEWSER) - Working on Wall Street used to have glamor to it—but now, saying you work at JPMorgan or Goldman Sachs immediately establishes you as “one of them,” the New York Times reports. Wall Streeters are facing a new pariah status, and many believe they’re taking an unfair share of heat when there’s plenty of blame to go around—to imprudent homeowners, for example. More»

Company earned $14.8B last quarter

(AP) - Exxon Mobil breezed by its own record for the biggest quarterly profit for a US corporation, earning $14.83 billion in the third quarter. Bolstered by this summer's record crude prices, net income jumped nearly 58%, or $2.86 a share, for the world's largest publicly traded oil company. Exxon set the previous record for US corporate profit in the quarter prior, when it earned $11.68 billion. More»