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Home$2B Loss? What Went Wrong at JP Morgan?
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 12th, 2012 7:32 AM |
What really happened at JP Morgan that a $2 billion loss could be racked up in supposedly the course of 6 weeks?
Little bit of octane in some of those positions, perhaps?
Did the brains within JP Morgan really know what they were doing? Did they make the same mistake as the brains at Long Term Capital Management in 1998? What mistake was that? (more…)
JP Morgan Whale: “Thar She Blows”
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 11th, 2012 6:02 AM |
Less than a month ago, JP Morgan released very solid 1st quarter 2012 earnings and put out the following release:
New York, April 13, 2012 – JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) today reported first-quarter 2012 net income of $5.4 billion, compared with net income of $5.6 billion in the first quarter of 2011. Earnings per share were $1.31, compared with $1.28 in the first quarter of 2011.
Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented on financial results: (more…)
Is JP Morgan Fronting for the Fed?
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 13th, 2012 9:09 AM |
UPDATE: This commentary written in mid-April 2012 should be read in conjunction with the following:
May 14th Review: Bloomberg Bombshells re: JP Morgan $2B Loss
May 12th review: $2B Loss? What Went Wrong at JP Morgan?
May 11th review: JP Morgan Whale: “Thar She Blows”
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Reports are swirling around Wall Street and the global markets about massive credit bets on the books at JP Morgan.
A JP Morgan trader in London, Bruno Iksil, has been nicknamed ‘the whale’. Iksil reports ultimately to Achilles Macris, JPM’s chief investment officer in Europe and Asia. Bloomberg had an interesting discussion this morning about Iksil, Macris, JPM, and these positions. Let’s watch and learn… (more…)
New Banking Rules Have Not Hurt Jamie Dimon
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 8th, 2011 12:20 PM |
When do you know that somebody is tone deaf?
Those with any measure of ‘sense on cents’ know when an individual is tone deaf. How so?
When said individual racks up compensation in the multiple tens of millions of dollars from an industry that was bailed out by taxpayer funds and then complains about changes in regulatory oversight, you know that individual is tone deaf.
To whom do I refer? Welcome to the world of JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. (more…)
Sense on Cents Commends JP Morgan for Standing Up for Long-Term Investors
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 15th, 2010 1:24 PM |
Why are investors increasingly less comfortable putting capital to work in the market? Why are investors increasingly less confident in the very structure of the marketplace itself? The simple fact is the supposed technological advancements embedded in high frequency trading have come with very real costs for long-term investors. The biggest advocate for investors in addressing these real costs has been Themis Trading’s Joe Saluzzi. I interviewed Joe twice over the last year and have referenced his work often. I commend Joe for often being the lone wolf within the industry crying out on these critically important issues.
Well, Joe now has company in the form of a very, very, very large wolf. Who might that be? None other than JP Morgan. Thanks very much to a regular reader of Sense on Cents for pointing out a story, JP Morgan’s Views On The Five Best Things About the Flash Crash, that ran yesterday at the fabulous site Zero Hedge. (more…)
Kevin Dillon Meet Peter Sivere
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 8th, 2010 7:10 AM |
A recent headline in my local newspaper highlights a whistleblower case involving JP Morgan and an employee named Kevin Dillon. The article, JP Morgan Employee Files Whistle-Blower Lawsuit, details how Dillon was rebuffed while he attempted to report alleged accounting improprieties by a Texas based hedge fund, Highland Capital Management. This fund has a prime brokerage relationship with JP Morgan.
Dillon has brought suit against JP Morgan for alleged mistreatment as a result of his blowing the whistle. Dillon and JP Morgan are certainly not the only individuals and firms involved in an employee dispute over procedures and treatment. So, why am I writing about this case? For the very simple reason that Mr. Dillon will hopefully read my commentary and know that he is not the first individual involved in a whistleblower dispute with JP Morgan.
Regular readers of Sense on Cents may recall the story of Peter Sivere, a JP Morgan employee who blew the whistle on his employer for allowing after hours trading of mutual funds by a high profile hedge fund. In the process of performing his duties, Sivere engaged attorneys from the SEC. What happened in the midst of engaging these attorneys? (more…)
JP Morgan’s Perfect Quarter More Evidence “Game Is Fixed”
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 11th, 2010 2:15 PM |
First Goldman Sachs. Now JP Morgan.
The shop where I worked from 2000-2006 released a report highlighting the fact that it made money each and every day of the 1st quarter. Thanks again to Matt for bringing this story to my attention. Bloomberg highlights, JP Morgan Traders Match Goldman’s Quarter with No Trading Loss:
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s traders matched those at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in making money every day of the first quarter, a first for both companies. (more…)
Price Fixing on Wall Street?
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 9th, 2010 11:16 AM |
Lessened competition in any industry will lead to wider margins and greater revenue and profit opportunities.
Wall Street circa 2010 is certainly a dramatically changed landscape with significantly lessened competition. Is Wall Street today an honest display of capitalism in which ‘to the victors go the spoils’? Or is Wall Street an oligopoly which is using its increased power and leverage to control, if not outright fix, prices for products and services?
In the midst of all the other issues Washington is facing, I think there is very little focus on this topic, but we overlook it at our peril. Why? Price fixing, or iterations thereof, is nothing more than a vehicle to transfer wealth from consumers to providers. (more…)
Wall Street’s Oligopoly Flexes Its Muscle
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 15th, 2010 12:51 PM |
Pricing power is everything.
What businessman wouldn’t like greater control and influence over the pricing of his goods and services? How are prices determined? In a capitalist system, prices are a function of the competitive forces of supply and demand. What happens when competition dwindles? Pricing power for the suppliers increases. How does competition dwindle? When barriers to entry are so high, or competitors go out of business. This economic reality is also known as an oligopoly and it defines the current state of our financial industry known as Wall Street.
Is Wall Street taking advantage of the lessened competition and flexing its muscle to drive revenue? Is the Pope Catholic? (more…)
Goldman’s Hatzius v Morgan’s Kasman: “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble”
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 30th, 2009 11:20 AM |
I love a good debate. Much like a prize fight, a healthy debate can ebb and flow as those ‘in the ring’ bob and weave while trying to score points. I so enjoyed a debate highlighted by The Wall Street Journal between the chief economists from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan that I highlighted it in the Newsworthy section of Sense on Cents. For those who don’t visit that section of my site, I am compelled to replay this debate here.
In the inimitable words of Michael Buffer, “let’s get ready to rumble” as Goldman, J.P. Morgan Economists Debate Shape of Recovery:
The recession might be over, but how goes the recovery?
We posed that question to two prominent Wall Street economists with two very different views of 2010. Bruce Kasman, chief economist at J.P. Morgan, sees the U.S. growing at about a 3.5% pace for most of next year. That appears optimistic compared to Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, who sees gross domestic product growth of 2% or so at the start of the year tapering off to just 1.5% by year-end.
The following is an edited transcript of their remarks during a recent conference call with The Wall Street Journal.
Looking ahead to 2010, what kind of recovery do you see? (more…)
