JPMorgan Chase(NYSE: JPM), unlike Enron, is not going to fold. Its capital position is strong and we believe its chief executive officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon when he forecasts that a lot more money will be earned. However, there are striking parallels.
Smartest, Highly Paid Kids in the Room
The most obvious, of course, is the classic case of the smartest kids in the room. There is an anecdote that more »
General Electric(NYSE: GE) is one of the biggest names in the financial and technological frontier. Mounted on a market cap of $200 billion, it comfortably stamps out competition from smaller competitors like Siemens(NYSE: SI) which extends a paltry $76 billion. All the same, it is not all roses for General Electric. It has experienced a huge plunge in the preceding decade. Its current position does not promise much more »
Until late last week, the group that led the S&P 500 in gains for the year so far was the financial sector. This group of stocks was up nearly 15 percent for the year, nearly double the gain made by the broader market. But financial stocks fell sharply on Friday after JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) stated it had made “egregious mistakes” and incurred significant ($2 billion) mark-to-market losses in credit more »
I’m a big fan of George Soros and his theory of reflexivity. I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the themes within it and, expand upon them in order to see how it might manifest itself into specific investments. Before engaging in this, here's a quick primer on what my take is on Soros’ reflexivity theory and, a key issue within it.
The unassuming and savvy Warren Buffett has been able to deflect pressure from Berkshire Hathaway(NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) over the years, however, now in his twilight, an anxious public and a predatory media are beginning to ask the hard questions since his recent activities with Goldman Sachs(NYSE: GS), GE(NYSE: GE), and Bank of America have left his followers less well-off than Buffett himself. No doubt Berkshire Hathaway more »
Noise is being made about JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Among the many lawsuits surrounding the movement, the way that the protesters were handled by police is coming into question. This lawsuit is being brought by four New York City Council members. They are claiming that the police used excessive force when eradicating the protesters. The complaint alleges that the police made false arrests and more »
The nearly forgotten Occupy Wall Street protesters plan to make a comeback on May Day. May 1 has many historic meanings, including that of the International Worker's Day, the day the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (which later became the American Federation of Labor) declared that "eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labor from and after May 1, 1886." It is also known as a more »
JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) has for a long time been a force to reckon with in terms of the impact that it has on the United States economy. This can be attributed to the fact that JP Morgan Chase has had a hand in a number of monumental deals that have seen the current state of the economy shaped from them.
Have investors become too accustomed to bank stocks' trading at a discount to book value, and thus are less demanding on the stocks' performance? Among major U.S. banks, Wells Fargo(NYSE: WFC) is the only stock that trades at a premium to its book value with a price-to-book ratio of about 1.35. The fourth largest bank by assets, Wells Fargo jumps to the top rank in terms of more »
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) had its typically tumultuous quarter in the first quarter of 2012. If nothing else, there is never a dull moment here. Of course, in the first quarter, Goldman had on its plate general sluggishness in the investment banking business in which it operates, Greg Smith's scathing excoriation in the New York Times, and the pending impact of the Volcker Rule. Through it all, Goldman Sachs more »
Warren Buffett announced on Tuesday that he is suffering from stage 1 prostate cancer, according to his own words “the condition is not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way”. Fortunately, Buffett seems to be in great health for his age, and he could easily continue managing Berkshire Hathaway(NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) for any years into the future.
On the other hand, the news brought the issue more »
The news – though wrapped in a lot of ribbons and bows – was mixed as Goldman Sachs(NYSE: GS) shared Q1 earnings today. It appears investors – for the most part anyway – understood that as the share price languishes at or near where it was at the open.
While earnings beat expectations - which is rarely a bad thing - there were also some less than desirable insights sprinkled throughout the announcement. So with more »
Many investors want to do the right thing. They want to invest their money not only where it will make a profit, but where it will also both make people’s lives better and care for the planet. There is a growing megatrend amongst investors (and consumers) to move from supporting the vampire capitalism of Goldman Sachs(NYSE: GS) to the “conscious capitalism” (listen here) of Whole Foods Market(NASDAQ: WFMmore »)
With the impending regulations for mortgage lending, the financial market will see some changes to the way it does business as early as January of 2013. The regulations are not altogether a bad thing considering all of the fines major financials have faced due to poorly thought out lending practices. The lending was a boon to such companies in the short to medium term, but due to the lawsuits and more »
To paraphrase Tolstoy’s famous observation about happy and unhappy families, healthy companies all keep their constituencies in line, at least most of the time. There’s too much to lose by blowing the whistle. At Apple, employees are socialized to be extremely circumspect, both outside and inside the organization. That's exactly how Apple could create so much excitement about a new product release.
Fidelity Bank closed its doors for the final time on March 30, 2012. Fidelity was a small bank compared to many with only eight branches to its name and a hometown location in Dearborn, Michigan. The bank failed; it held a portfolio of $818 million in assets and garnered the number one spot on the FDIC’s list of failed banks for 2012 for having the most assets.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) must be prime rib for the Occupy Wall Street crowd, self-proclaimed representatives of the 99%, as Goldman and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) are the most notable morsels yet Heard on the Street after The Thundering Herd was corralled by the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). Indeed, according to some, it was Merrill’s wanting to be more like Goldman, so abandoning more »
The Dodd - Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was written to “create a sound economic foundation to grow jobs, protect consumers, reign in Wall Street and big bonuses, end bailouts and too big to fail, (and) prevent another crisis.” It is the Dodd – Frank legislation that brought down debit card fees, costing banks mightily in their non-interest income. That one step has been estimated to have cost banks more »
AOL(NYSE: AOL) got off the hook on proposed 9,000-member class action lawsuit “Tasini v. AOL Inc.,” regarding unpaid bloggers. Plaintiffs were asking for $105 million. Not a great amount of money but enough to encourage the unpaid blogger as well as interns at other companies to also try to work the legal system. Last week, Southern District Judge John Koeltl tossed the lawsuit. In his opinion, the bloggers more »
I used to enjoy “The Muppet Show” as a kid growing up, so much so I gained a miniscule amount of motivation from Animal, with my desire to be a drummer. I’m almost certain John “Bonzo” Bonham provided a bit of inspiration for the character, which justified those feelings in my young, developing, twisted mind.
Now for those of us in these great United States that have enjoyed our more »
