Opening Bell: 07.13.12
J.P. Morgan Second-Quarter Profit Fell 8.7% (WSJ)
JPMorgan's second-quarter earnings fell 8.7% from a year ago, on a double-digit decline in revenue and a $4.4 billion trading loss at its Chief Investment Office. The U.S.'s largest bank by assets also said it would restate its first-quarter results to reduce profits and revenue, amid questions about how traders at the unit marked their positions. Including the restatement, total losses on the Chief Investment Office trading hit $5.1 billion in the first half of 2012. Finance chief Doug Braunstein on Friday put the trading loss through Thursday at $5.8 billion. The bank said the restatement of first-quarter results reflects "recently discovered information that raises questions about the integrity of the trader marks and suggests that certain individuals may have been seeking to avoid showing the full amount of the losses in the portfolio during the first quarter." Overall, the bank posted a $4.96 billion second-quarter profit, worth $1.21 a share. That is down from $5.43 billion, or $1.29 a share, a year ago. Revenue fell 17% from a year earlier to $22.18 billion.
Dimon Says Ina Drew Offered To Return 2 Years Of Compensation (Bloomberg)
“She has acted with integrity and tried to do what was right for the company at all times, even though she was part of this mistake,” Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said today at a meeting with analysts. “In that spirit, Ina came forward and offered to give up a very significant amount of her past compensation, which is equivalent to the maximum clawback amount.” Dimon said that when Drew decided to retire he received letters from former chairmen in her support, including one who said “she saved the company.”
JPMorgan Trader 'London Whale' Leaves: Source (Reuters)
Goodnight, sweet prince: Bruno Iksil, the JPMorgan Chase trader known as the "London Whale" has left the bank in the wake of a trading scandal, a person familiar with the situation said.
Wells Fargo Profit Up 17% (WSJ)
The bank reported a profit of $4.62 billion, up from a year-earlier profit of $3.95 billion. Per-share earnings, reflecting the payment of preferred dividends, rose to 82 cents from 70 cents a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 81 cents. Revenue increased 4.4% to $21.29 billion. Analysts were looking for $21.36 billion.
Dogs From NY, Virginia Wed at Charity Extravaganza (AP)
Two dogs got married Thursday night at an extravaganza to benefit the Humane Society of New York. Bride Baby Hope Diamond, a white Coton de Tulear with black-gray markings, was led down the aisle, resplendent in her canine couture gown. Her poodle groom, a dapper dude named Chilly Pasternak from Richmond, Va., didn't seem too excited about the whole affair but, nevertheless, went along with the ceremony. After they got hitched, the cuddly couple were presented with a Guinness World Record in the category of most expensive pet wedding at $158,187.26. The luxury goods and services that went into the wedding were all donated.
Focus Falls On BOE Libor Claims (WSJ)
In one email from June 2008, Tim Geithner, then head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and now the U.S. Treasury Secretary, copied Mr. Tucker on a message to Bank of England Governor Mervyn King in which he made several suggestions "to improve the integrity and transparency" of the Libor-setting process, "…including procedures designed to prevent accidental or deliberate misreporting." The memo followed a series of news reports in The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere that questioned whether officials at some banks were gaming Libor. One of Mr. Geithner's suggestions was titled "Eliminate incentive to misreport."
Banks’ Libor Costs May Hit $22 Billion (FT)
Ballpark.
Americans Living Larger As New-Home Sizes Defy Economy (Bloomberg)
arger, as in larger homes: two-story foyers, twin front staircases, children’s wings, dedicated man caves, coffee bars, four-car garages, and bedroom closets large enough for a fifth vehicle. The percentage of new single-family homes greater than 3,000 square feet has grown by one-third in the last decade, according to data released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase has occurred even while 4.3 million homes have been foreclosed upon since January 2007, a result of the housing- bubble collapse and economic meltdown. Slightly more than 1 in 4 new homes built last year were larger than 3,000 square feet, the highest percentage since 2007.
Buffett Says Euro Destined For Failure Without Rule Changes (Bloomberg)
“The system that they put in place had a fundamental fatal flaw,” Buffett said today on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop With Betty Liu” in an interview from the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. “It can’t survive with the present rules. That’s what they’re learning. The question is, can 17 countries get together in a way to essentially re-do something.”
‘Occupy’ catches a few rays in the Sun (NYP)
The Occupy Wall Street movement yesterday crashed Allen & Co.’s exclusive media retreat, where the nation’s wealthiest business titans rub elbows every summer. Protesters railing against the growing gap between the rich and everyone else gathered at the Sun Valley Resort near the duck pond, where Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Mayor Mike Bloomberg were enjoying a leisurely lunch. A group of seven people, dressed in “Greed Kills” T-shirts laid on the ground and refused to move. They quickly unfurled a yellow banner that read: “White Collar Crime Scene.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger Confirms He’s Doing ‘Twins’ Sequel (Deadline)
The former California governor said during Lionsgate‘s panel for the action pic The Expendables 2 today at Comic-Con that he will make a sequel to the 1988 movie Twins in which he co-starred with Danny DeVito. He is reteaming with that movie’s original director Ivan Reitman too, Schwarzenegger said, the project is in development and they are looking for a writer.