Bank of America’s profit slips, but tops estimates (MarketWatch)
The bank posted second-quarter net income of $3.12 billion, or 27 cents a share, down from $3.22 billion, or 33 cents a share, from the same period last year. That compares with analysts’ consensus estimate of 22 cents a share, based on estimates compiled by FactSet Research.

Citigroup Net Income Falls 38%, Beating Analysts’ Estimates (Bloomberg)
Second-quarter net income was $2.73 billion, down from $4.39 billion in the same period a year earlier, New York-based Citigroup said today in a statement. The per-share profit was 9 cents, exceeding the 5-cent average estimate of 18 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. “Citigroup, despite the turbulence in the markets, appears to have turned the corner and its plan is on track,” said James Ellman, a former Merrill Lynch & Co. bank-stock portfolio manager who is now president of San Francisco-based hedge fund Seacliff Capital.

Fabulous Fab to File Response to SEC (WSJ)
Fabrice Tourre, the only Goldman employee named as a defendant in the civil-fraud charges leveled against Goldman Sachs, is not close to settling his own case with the government, a person familiar with the matter said. The 31-year-old banker will file Monday a response to the SEC’s charges of misleading investors from his role in creating complex mortgage-linked investments, the person said. That response is expected to show that Tourre is willing to take the case to court in an effort to clear his name, the person said.

RBS May Seek More After $100 Million Goldman Payout (Reuters)
RBS said on Friday it would “carefully consider all of its options” after Goldman agreed on Thursday to pay it $100 million as part of a $550 million settlement of civil fraud charges over how it marketed the subprime mortgage product. German bank IKB, the other big loser on the transaction, will be paid $150 million under the settlement, recovering all of its loss.

Juncker:No catastrophes from stress tests seen (Reuters)
“I am not expecting any big catastrophes,” the chairman of euro zone finance ministers told Austrian newspaper Kurier. “But there cannot be any glossing over, the tests are based on reality,” he said in an interview. Continue reading »

$$$ Goldman Sachs: Bombmakers bombarded [The Economist]

$$$ Waco stripper found guilty of punching, biting fellow stripper during argument [WT]

$$$ Penthouse Owner Makes Competing Bid for Playboy [CNBC]

$$$ Greenspan Says Congress Should Let Bush’s Tax Cuts Lapse [Bloomberg]

JPMorgan’s Earnings Surge 76% (MarketWatch)
The bank said Thursday that its second-quarter profit jumped 76% as results were boosted by a $1.5 billion reduction in the group’s loan loss reserves. JPM posted earnings of $4.8 billion, or $1.09 cents a share for the quarter, compared to $2.7 billion, or 28 cents in the same period last year. “Although we are gratified to see consumer-lending net charge-offs and delinquencies decline, they remain at extremely high levels and therefore returns in our consumer-lending businesses are still unacceptable,” said Jamie Dimon.

Dick Bové: JPMorgan Results ‘Not a Good Number’ (CNBC)
“On the whole this number [$25.6 billion in revenue] is not a good number… it’s here because they’ve taken money out of reserves and put it into earnings,” Bové said. “Trading was devastating,” the analyst added

AIG Chairman Resigns After Dispute With CEO Benmosche Over Stalled Divestiture Of An Asia Division (Bloomberg)
Golub’s departure will increase Benmosche’s influence, said Gary Wolfer, senior vice president and chief economist at Univest Wealth Management & Trust Services. The resignation “clears the deck” for Benmosche, said Wolfer. “Having a clearer field, it’s going to be the Benmosche Show going forward.”

AIG’s `Turnaround Kid’ Miller Gets Challenge at Rescued Insurer (Bloomberg)
Miller was named AIG’s chairman yesterday. A restructuring specialist, he has overseen the bankruptcy of Delphi Corp., once the largest U.S. auto-parts supplier, and helped Chrysler Corp. return to profitability after taking government loans in 1980. He’s been chief executive officer at Waste Management Inc., Federal-Mogul Corp. and Bethlehem Steel Corp. (BTW, he gave himself that nickname, “The Turnaround Kid,” which is against the rules.)

Goldman, SEC Discuss Catch-All Settlement (WSJ)
The two parties recently held discussions about a possible settlement to simultaneously resolve the fraud lawsuit against Goldman and some of the agency’s lower-profile probes of the Wall Street firm’s mortgage department.

ABA ISSUES DETAILED ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL REGULATORY REFORM BILL (ABA)
“The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is unprecedented in scope and will usher in a new era of financial services regulation,” said Edward L. Yingling, ABA president and CEO. “Unfortunately, legislators took a ‘while-we’re-at-it’ approach during the bill’s journey, imposing unrelated new restrictions on traditional banks that were more victim than villain in the financial crisis.”

Deputy Doom: World At Risk Of Falling In On Itself (CNBC)
“If we slide into deflation – the likely fate of the developed market – a Japan-style outcome will become inevitable,” Arun Motianey, director of fixed income strategy at Roubini Global Economics, said. “In Japan, the BoJ has lost the ability to create inflation and is condemned to deflation. Central banks may now need to talk about the necessity of inflation…before it is too late.” Continue reading »

$$$ Roubini Says Obama Should Address Nation as Adults [Bloomberg]

$$$ Eleven Banks Will Fail EU Stress Tests: Strategist [CNBC]

$$$ Grant On Potential New Federal Reserve Governors [Bloomberg]

$$$ SEC Delves Into ‘Proxy Plumbing‘ [WSJ]