Bank Profits Double While Americans Languish, Unemployed
Fri, 07/15/2011 - 3:55pm —
Maya Shwayder
Unemployment hit 9.2% in June, the highest rate in 2011, a sign that the real American economy is stalling. But on Wall Street, it's a different story.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Citigroup's profits "jumped 24%," adding up to $3.34 billion in profits. Resorting to "investment mode," Citi was cushioned by an improved credit rating and a $2 billion reserve release. Despite the falling dollar and and falling profits from capital markets, Citi posted a 69% revenue increase.
Similarly, JPMorgan, which was forced to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in recent weeks to settle a series of federal fraud allegations, reported a $5.4 billion profit, reflecting "robust gains" that are assuaged the fears of many investors, and proving wrong the many analysts who were predicting overall losses across the industry. CEO Jamie Dimon has taken Barack Obama and Ben Bernanke to task over the last year for actions that he said would hurt the banking system. Overall, JPMorgan's second-quarter revenue climbed 7%.
Likewise, Google, whose revenues increased by 32%, beat expectations, and shares surged 11%.
http://www.nationalmemo.com/article/bank-profits-double-while-americans-languish-unemployed
DO SOMETHING!
| 
