07. Moody's cuts J.P. Morgan's rating, hints dividend at risk
10:38 AM ET, Jan 15, 2009 - By Sue ChangSAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Moody's Investors Service on Thursday lowered J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s senior debt rating to Aa3 from Aa2 and the ratings on its subsidiaries to Aa1 from Aaa. The downgrades are in response to a dim outlook on J.P. Morgan generating capital which in turn may prompt the financial firm to cut dividend. "JPM's capital ratios, and especially its tangible-equity ratio, are relatively high, and as a consequence, JPM is in a more manageable position than are its major U.S. bank competitors to deal with the dual problems of revenue reductions and increased credit costs. To the extent these pressures become more extreme, we expect JPM would defend its capital ratios by reducing expenses and by cutting its common dividend," said Sean Jones, Moody's senior vice president. The outlook is stable.
57. J.P. Morgan's investment bank lost $2.4 billion
7:08 AM ET, Jan 15, 2009 - By Greg MorcroftNEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- J.P. Morgan Chase said Thursday that its investment banking operations lost $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter. "The weaker results reflected a decrease in net revenue and a higher provision for credit losses, partially offset by lower noninterest expense," the firm said. Net revenue was negative $302 million, down from $3.5 billion last year, as investment banking fees and advisory fees fell 17% and 10% respectively. Credit loss provisions at Morgan' investment bank rose to $765 million in the quarter, compared to $200 million last year.JPM
58. J.P. Morgan adds $4.1 billion to loan loss provisions
7:02 AM ET, Jan 15, 2009 - By Greg MorcroftNEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- J.P. Morgan Chase said Thursday that it added $4.1 billion in loan loss reserves in the fourth quarter to cover rising defaults across its loan portfolio. During the year, the firm increased its total allowance for loan losses to $23.2 billion. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, in a press release, said Thursday that, "If the economic environment deteriorates further, which is a distinct possibility, it is reasonable to expect additional negative impact on our market-related businesses, continued higher loan losses and increases to our credit reserves."JPM
59. J.P. Morgan net falls sharply, but tops Wall Street view
6:43 AM ET, Jan 15, 2009 - By Greg MorcroftNEW YORK (MarketWatch) - J.P. Morgan Chase said Thursday that a $1.1 billion benefit from merger-related items helped the firm post a $702 million, or 7 cents a share, fourth-quarter profit, compared to a profit of $3 billion, or 86 cents a share, in the year -ago period. Total net revenue dipped to $17.23 billion in the quarter, from $17.38 billion last year. Analysts at ThomsonReuters had expected the company to break even on revenue of $18.83 billion. J.P. Morgan had originally planned to report earnings next week, but moved that date up, making it the first of the major banks and S&P 500 financial stocks to post fourth-quarter earnings. Rival Citigroup will report its fourth-quarter earnings Friday morning.C, JPM
60. Stock futures off lows following J.P. Morgan Chase results
6:37 AM ET, Jan 15, 2009 - By Steve GoldsteinLONDON (MarketWatch) -- Stock futures moved off session lows Thursday following J.P. Morgan Chase's announcement that it earned $702 million, or 7 cents a share, in the fourth quarter. While that's down from the $3 billion that the bank earned in the fourth quarter of 2007, the New York giant managed to meet analyst predictions. Still, the decision by Steve Jobs to relinquish day-to-day control of Apple kept tech futures well under water. In