‘We don’t know where the recovery is’

By Erin Lawley Posted on January 18, 2010 at 7:50 am

Maybe the recovery hasn’t started yet. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon alluded to the possibility of more trouble ahead on a Friday conference call.

Betsy Graseck of Morgan Stanley asked if there was anything preventing JP Morgan from raising its dividend.

Dimon: Not really. I think we’ve said we really want to see a real recovery before we do that because we don’t want to have to do this again, just in case you have another dip down here.

Finally, Calyon analyst Mike Mayo tried to clear things up. “So you expect [nonperforming assets] to go down in mid or late 2010?”

Dimon: “Well, Mike, we don’t know when the recovery is.”

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Tags: banking, Betsy Graseck, Calyon Securities USA Inc., distressed assets, economic cycles, economic indicators, economy, James L. Dimon, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Michael Mayo, Morgan Stanley, recession, recovery  

LifePoint upgraded

By Erin Lawley Posted on January 13, 2010 at 2:02 pm

Soleil Securities has given LifePoint Hospitals’ stock a buy rating, apparently related to the company’s presentation yesterday at J.P. Morgan’s annual health care conference. The hospital company’s stock (Ticker: LPNT) was up about 3.5 percent on the day.

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Tags: analyst actions, Health Care, hospital management, JP Morgan Chase & Co., LifePoint Hospitals Inc., Soleil Securities Group Inc.  

BoA, JPM hold off on evictions

By J.R. Lind Posted on December 21, 2009 at 11:42 am

HousingWire reports Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase will stop foreclosures during the holidays, a not-unusual move already made by Citi and Fannie and Freddie.

The BoA and Chase moratorium is in effect until Jan. 3.

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Tags: Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., distressed assets, Fannie Mae, foreclosures, Freddie Mac, housing market, HousingWire, JP Morgan Chase & Co., residential real estate  

JP Morgan’s mortgage warning

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on October 15, 2009 at 7:54 am

Despite posting a third-quarter profit of $3.6 billion — more than six times the year-ago number — JP Morgan Chase says its loan losses are still rising and affecting even mortgages that were thought to be of high quality. Keep in mind that just about everyone in the know agrees that JPM is the cream of the crop.

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Tags: banking, earnings reports, JP Morgan Chase & Co., loan losses, mortgages  

Analyst action: Louisiana-Pacific

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on October 12, 2009 at 1:52 pm

JP Morgan analyst Claudia Shank Hueston has given shares of Louisiana-Pacific (Ticker: LPX) and other paper and forest product companies a boost by raising her earnings estimates. In the case of LP, Hueston said the company’s recent capital raise will improve its profit potential.

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Tags: analyst actions, Claudia Shank Hueston, earnings estimates, housing market, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Louisiana-Pacific Corp., manufacturing, residential real estate  

Top wholesale lender bails

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on January 13, 2009 at 10:44 pm

JP Morgan Chase, which had more than 7 percent of the broker lending market last fall, says it will take applications for new loans through Friday. After that, it’s shutting down the division.

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Tags: banking, JP Morgan Chase & Co., layoffs, mortgages, wholesale lending