JPMorgan turns in record profit, higher revenue

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2012, file photo, a banker walks past JPMorgan Chase offices in London. JPMorgan Chase, the country's biggest bank by assets, reported a record quarterly profit Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. The bank said it made $5.3 billion in earnings for common shareholders, a widely used measurement, from July through September, up 36 percent from the same period a year ago.(AP Photo/dapd,Timur Emek)

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2012, file photo, a banker walks past JPMorgan Chase offices in London. JPMorgan Chase, the country's biggest bank by assets, reported a record quarterly profit Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. The bank said it made $5.3 billion in earnings for common shareholders, a widely used measurement, from July through September, up 36 percent from the same period a year ago.(AP Photo/dapd,Timur Emek)

FILE - This July 28, 2012, file photo, shows JPMorgan Chase office in London. JPMorgan Chase, the country's biggest bank by assets, reported a record quarterly profit Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. The bank said it made $5.3 billion in earnings for common shareholders, a widely used measurement, from July through September, up 36 percent from the same period a year ago. (AP Photo/dapd,Timur Emek)

This Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, photo shows a JPMorgan Chase branch office in Oklahoma City. JPMorgan Chase, the country's biggest bank by assets, reported a record quarterly profit Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. The bank said it made $5.3 billion in earnings for common shareholders, a widely used measurement, from July through September, up 36 percent from the same period a year ago. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

NEW YORK (AP) ? JPMorgan Chase, the country's biggest bank, reported a record quarterly profit Friday, helped by a surge in mortgage refinancing. CEO Jamie Dimon said he believed the housing market "has turned a corner."

The bank made $5.3 billion from July through September, up 36 percent from the same period a year ago. It worked out to $1.40 per share, blowing away the $1.21 predicted by analysts polled by FactSet, a provider of financial data.

Revenue rose 6 percent to $25.9 billion, beating expectations of $24.4 billion. Earnings were also helped because the bank set aside less money for bad loans ? $1.8 billion, down 26 percent from a year ago.

Revenue from mortgage loans shot up 29 percent. About three-quarters of that was from people refinancing, rather than buying new homes. Low interest rates and government help encouraged homeowners to refinance.

A Federal Reserve survey earlier this week found that a stronger housing market helped economic growth in almost every part of the country. Home sales are up, prices are rising more consistently in most places, and builders are more confident.

Dimon noted that the bank was still seeing a high level of souring mortgage loans, and said he expects high default-related expenses "for a while longer." And he noted homeowners are still struggling under mortgages they can't afford, saying the bank was working to modify those loans.

The bank gave few details on the surprise $6 billion trading loss that dominated its previous earnings report. It did mention that a credit portfolio moved to the investment bank from the chief investment office, which was responsible for the bad trade, "experienced a modest loss."

The bank set aside an extra $684 million for legal expenses. Chief financial officer Doug Braunstein said the reserves were related to "a variety of issues," and not just a lawsuit filed last week by the New York attorney general over mortgage-backed securities sold by Bear Stearns. JPMorgan bought Bear Stearns as it veered toward collapse in 2008.

Dimon said he couldn't predict how much the bank would have to spend in the future.

"Obviously we're in a litigious society," he said on a call with reporters. "We have a lot of mortgage suits coming and others. ... Hopefully it will come down over time but we can't promise you that."

The number of employees was up about 1 percent over the year. But it fell about 1 percent compared with the previous quarter. The bank shed about 3,300 jobs to 259,550.

Dimon said he believed the number of workers would continue to come down, partly because the bank will need fewer people to handle problem mortgages but also because the company would continue to look for efficiencies.

He declined to give specifics on how bonus season might play out early next year. "The company's doing quite well, and we want to pay our people fairly and properly as we always have," he said.

Dimon also declined to answer a question about what the board of directors might decide about his own pay. Some had speculated it would be cut because of the trading scandal.

"I would never tell you what our board of directors does, OK?" Dimon said. He was paid $23 million last year, mostly in stock awards.

JPMorgan's investment banking unit earned more in fees for underwriting stock offerings and debt offerings, which could signal that wary companies and investors are more willing to get back into the market.

Debit card revenue fell, which the bank attributed to new rules crimping the fees that banks charge stores whenever customers pay via debit card.

JPMorgan stock was down 22 cents in premarket trading at $41.88. The stock was as low as $31 in early June, after the bank announced the trading loss, which later ballooned to $6 billion.

The bank's revenue was slightly lower, $25.1 billion, when adjusted for a controversial accounting rule that penalizes banks when the bonds they issue to investors look safer and rise in value.

The theory behind the rule, in place since 2007, is that it would cost banks more to buy those bonds back from investors. The rule has been sharply criticized by the banking industry, including by Dimon, and could be phased out as early as next year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-12-Earns-JPMorgan%20Chase/id-defb13ec21be40a0a92a1a4d8fce7c1c

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Islamic militants help seize missile base in Syria

BEIRUT (AP) ? Fighters from a shadowy militant group with suspected links to al-Qaida joined Syrian rebels in seizing a government missile defense base in northern Syria on Friday, according to activists and amateur video.

It was unclear if the rebels were able to hold the base after the attack, and analysts questioned whether they would be able to make use of any of the missiles they may have spirited away.

Nevertheless, the assault underscored fears of advanced weaponry falling into the hands of extremists playing an increasingly large role in Syria's civil war.

Videos purportedly shot inside the air defense base and posted online stated that the extremist group, Jabhat al-Nusra, participated in the overnight battle near the village of al-Taaneh, five kilometers (three miles) east of the country's largest city, Aleppo. The videos show dozens of fighters inside the base near a radar tower, along with rows of large missiles, some on the backs of trucks.

A report by a correspondent with the Arabic satellite network Al-Jazeera who visited the base Friday said Jabhat al-Nusra took the lead in the attack, killing three guards and taking others prisoner before seizing the base. The report showed a number of missiles and charred buildings, as well as fighters wearing black masks.

Two Aleppo-based activists and Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also said Jabhat al-Nusra fought in the battle with other rebel groups. They disputed the notion that the extremist group had the lead role in the attack, however.

It was impossible to independently verify the videos and conflicting reports because of restrictions on reporting in Syria.

Despite Western opposition to President Bashar Assad's regime, the U.S. and other countries have cited the presence of extremists among the rebels as a reason not to supply the Syrian insurgents with weapons. They have repeatedly cited concerns of heavy weaponry falling into wrong hands.

Rebel leaders argue that arms shortages mean they'll take aid from whoever offers it, regardless of their ideology.

The capture of the base also plays into fears about extremists acquiring Syria's chemical and biological weapons ? particularly if the Assad regime collapses and loses control of them.

Neighboring Jordan's King Abdullah II fears such weapons could go to al-Qaida or other militants, primarily the Iranian-allied Lebanese Hezbollah. The U.S. has sent about 150 troops to Jordan, largely Army special operations forces, to bolster the kingdom's military capabilities in the event Syria's civil war escalates.

Syria is believed to have one of the world's largest chemical weapons programs, and the regime has said it might use the weapons against external threats, though not against Syrians.

Western powers ? and many Syrians ? worry that Islamist extremists are playing an increasing role in Syria's civil war, which started in March 2011 as a mostly peaceful uprising against Assad.

Little is known about Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Support Front, which began claiming attacks in Syria earlier this year in postings on jihadi forums often used by al-Qaida. While neither group has officially acknowledged a link to the other, analysts say al-Nusra's tactics, rhetoric and use of al-Qaida forums point to an affiliation.

Activists on the ground say the group is known for fighting on the front lines in harsh battles and goes out of its way not to show up in activist videos.

"Most brigades want to be filmed in operations so they can get support, but al-Nusra doesn't allow any filming," Aleppo activist Mohammed Abu Omar said via Skype.

The base captured Friday is part of the large air defense infrastructure Syria has built across the country over the years, mostly for use in a possible war with archenemy Israel.

Last week, the rebels reported seizing another air defense base outside the capital, Damascus, as well as a base in the southern province of Daraa. Online videos show them torching vehicles and seizing dozens of boxes of ammunition in the Daraa base.

The storming of these bases by the poorly armed rebels is an embarrassment to the Assad regime, but analysts say the missiles are unlikely to benefit the insurgents.

Pieter Wezeman of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute identified the missiles in Friday's video as S-75 surface-to-air missiles, which he said are old and hard to move and fire.

"They are outdated and difficult to operate, just not made for use by guerrilla forces not trained in using these things," he said.

The regime, which has received much more advanced surface-to-air missiles from Russia in recent years, probably did not make defending the site a priority, he said.

It also remains unclear if the rebels held the base after storming it. Rebel forces are largely helpless against the regime's attack jets and helicopters, which bomb rebel and civilians areas daily.

One Aleppo activist said the rebels had taken all the munitions they could from the base, and he hoped they could find a way to use the missiles against Assad's air force.

"We have asked all countries to help us with anti-aircraft weapons and no one has, so hopefully these will help," said the activist, Mohammed Saeed.

In any case, it was not clear how much the rebels would be able to make use of the missiles.

"Anyone trying to use these will need to be extremely well trained both in fueling up the missiles and then tracking the target and using the fire control radar," said Jim O'Halloran, an expert in air defense systems at IHS Jane's.

Meanwhile, the fallout deepened from a Syrian passenger jet forced to land in neighboring Turkey, as Russia said the plane traveling from Moscow to Damascus was carrying radar parts that were being transported legally.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted the plane was carrying a legitimate cargo of "electric equipment for radars," but he added that it was of "dual purpose," meaning it could have civilian and military applications.

"It's not forbidden by any international conventions," Lavrov said, adding that the Russian company that sent it to Syria will demand that Turkey return the cargo. He didn't name the Russian company or the cargo's recipient in Syria.

Russia has been Assad's main supporter and ally, shielding him from international sanctions over his crackdown on the uprising.

Turkey's prime minister has said the plane was carrying ammunition and military equipment for the Syrian Defense Ministry. Turkish fighter jets intercepted the Syrian Airbus A320 on Wednesday amid heightened tensions between Turkey and Syria, fueled by recent cross-border shelling from Syria that killed five Turkish civilians.

Tensions continued Friday as Turkey's military scrambled two F-16 fighter jets after a Syrian attack helicopter was seen over a Syrian border town where rebels and regime troops have been clashing for days, Turkey's Dogan news agency reported.

It said the jets were sent to the border to prevent a possible incursion into Turkey by the helicopter, which soon disappeared from view.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry and military did not immediately confirm the report.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it recorded on Thursday its highest one-day death toll for government soldiers ? 92 ? since the start of the conflict.

It said most of the deaths took place in Idlib province, where some 20 soldiers were killed in a rebel attack on a government checkpoint.

Activists say more than 32,000 people have been killed as the conflict has evolved from a peaceful uprising to a brutal battle between rebels and government troops. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled the fighting to neighboring countries.

___

Associated Press writers Elizabeth A. Kennedy in Beirut, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/islamic-militants-help-seize-missile-syria-184543150.html

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