Wall Street Logs Best Quarter Since Credit Crisis Erupted

Wall Street Journal:

The securities firms still standing on Wall Street are about to close the most lucrative quarter since the credit crisis erupted.

And instead of relying on risk and leverage to drive profits, companies such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. are getting back to basics, with a strong performance from trading and underwriting.

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

Comments

[delta7777]

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Wall Street Logs Best Quarter Since Credit Crisis Erupted

Main Street Logs worst Quarter Since Credit Crisis Erupted
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[rogerthat21]

looks like greed is back with a vengeance. where is the change, Obama?

hat tip to: http://investmintideas.blogspot.com for the good articles

[humanbeing-rick]

There is a fundamental disconnect between Wall street and reality.
These financial wizards, hedge fund managers, stock traders and bankers live in an alternate reality, a completely different world than the rest of America.
While the rest of America is suffering record unemployment rates, home foreclosure rates, bankruptcy rates, declining incomes and savings, these financial clowns are making a killing.
They are playing with our money. Without our money to play with, they would have nothing.
They contribute no real value to our society.
They instead rape and pillage our economy right under our noses.
We need to throw the money changers out of the temple!
These Wall street people need their come uppance, and if our government will not do it, then a revolution of the people will!
Power to the People!

[nomorefed]

People now are getting paid the SAME WAGES as they did in 2000. But are prices at 2000
levels? H3LL NO. So they go into debt, adding more layers tothe USA debt ponzi scheme.

good finance articles: http://heavysidetrade.blogspot.com/

[BurtonOerney]

Do you think an increasing s&p, financial aid reform, credit card reform and bankruptcy reform (even though it didn't pass but was part of the mortgage strategy) will push wages down and increase debt?

[iblogleft]

This is a suckers market, period.

[delta7777]

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ISN"T IT ABOUT TIME that Government
starts using sticks instead of carrots to
get Wall Street and the Megabankers in line????

It is obvious that handing them these trillions of dollars without accountability
is only going into executives' pockets, corporate acquisitions, and hoarding.
None of it is reaching main street, the foreclosure crisis, or commercial lending.

Galbraith's description of "trickle down" economics--that if you feed enough oats
to the horse some of it will pass through to the sparrows-seems not to account for
the current situation. The horse (or is it an elephant) seems to be terminally
constipated, or is it merely becoming enormously bloated??---because
absolutely nothing is passing through to the sparrows these days.

The FED must refuse all lending and insurance (now subsidized by taxpayers)
unless and until Megamoney stops hoarding and stuffing everything in their pockets,
and starts lending in a manner that will get jobs rolling again and halt foreclosures.

The excuse that excessive compensation is necessary to keep top talent???
INCREDIBLE ! ! !
The only talent Megamoney wants to keep
is the criminal talent to steal taxpayer and investor money.

STOP FEEDING CARROTS TO THE PIGS !!

[nycwerewolf]

Obama saved the financial markets and everyone should give him his props for that. The fact is back in January (or even later - March) no one thought we would see these big moves in the markets. He did that. Give him some respect. Wall Street for better or worse will lead us out of this mess. They got us into it certainly. But they'll be the ones to get us out. And Obama gave them the means to do so and they continue to bite the hand that feeds.

[goingnow]

It's true that they will lead us out of this mess and this is actually really good news that they are recovering so well. Obama is going to be one of the greatest presidents in history.

[Tiggy]

And as history shows, they will lead us right back into a larger mess given time. And again, we will both bail them out and pay the price for their over indulgent deviant behavior. As with all regulation, they will be relaxed in time and greed will once again rear its ugly head.

[BurtonOerney]

I see this administration being very philosophically consistent despite the unpopularity of the financial bailouts - a nice change from Paulson's approach. The administration's position arguing against tax cuts in the stimulus package stressed putting money where it would multiply the most: food stamps, unemployment, aid to states. The multiplier for money put into the financials will turn out to be much higher. Also, we don't hear anything about the disaster that was Hoot Smalley in 1931 but Obama quietly issues a signing statement saying he won't enforce tariffs with regard to cap and trade. His administration will get no credit for being prudent, yet it was the right thing to do.

[berensma]

[all of this is sarcasm] I am so very, very grateful that Wall Street is recovering its bearings. This will enable us to declare an end to the recession, and that is exactly what we need, isn't it? No need to pay attention to jobs, or individual lives, or the health of states and cities. Viva Wall Street!

[blimie]

The securities firms are having a lucrative quarter. No more relying on risk and leverage for profits, Well, that's just frickin great for them. That bailout money from the taxpayers was a real boon for them. Our politicians are doing a wonderful job of providing them lots of money courtesy of the taxpayer.

[jsgaetano]

Remember when conservatives were gnashing their teeth and tearing their hair out, shouting that Obama was destroying the economy they spent eight years plunging into another Great Depression?

Yeah, I found that funny too.

[drkazmd65]

Does kinda want to make one snicker a bit at the conservatives,... if only one wasn't quite so pissed about them being the primary reason we got into this mess to begin with.

One of the worst kept secrets,... Obama is really centrist, and really doesn't think like a Socialist OR act like one.

[GardenerNorCal]

For all of us that are unemployed, homeless and struggling to live, we are supposed to view today's financial situation as simply a credit crisis? And we are supposed to be happy that the players are doing better?

Was that how Roosevelt viewed the depression? Just a huge credit crisis?

[jsgaetano]

Yeah... now there's no credit crisis, but since nobody has a job, nobody will qualify for credit.

But hey, everything sounds fixed!

[bayviking]

Its easy to make money when you cook the books, fake securities ratings, park at the top of a market manipulation scheme and swim in that taxpayer provided bailout money.

In the fifties FIRE (finance, insurance and real estate) represented 2% of Corporate profits (full production and employment were official policy) . Today it is 40%. The financial sector provides 60% of Washington's campaign funds. This is all you need to know to understand the state of our economy.

[CompashCat]

More people ought to understand this. This is what is wrong with our country, in my opinion.

[GardenerNorCal]

Why aren't we hearing any of the financial pundits pointing this out?

[Rule Of Law]

Remember in Pirates of the Caribbean when Will accused Jack Sparrow of not fighting fairly, and he replied, "Pirate!"

This is the WSJ. Same answer.

[Never-The-Less]

I have to correct my 1st post, actually we borrow some money from China the rest the Fed just prints with no collateral to back it up.

[cdrach]

don't they mean using the govt money to buy securities and oil futures

[Never-The-Less]

The Fed (actually we the tax payer) is borrowing money from China, then the Fed turns around and for no charge "lends" that money to banks, trillions of dollars for free. The banks in turn lend that money to us, charging US the tax payer a fee, transaction fees, finance charges, interest...So it should be no mystery that the banks are doing "well" its the American tax payer who is loosing. And I am sorry to say Obama is just as culpable as Bush, if not more so.