Big Banks Steer Through ‘Treacherous’ Conditions [DealBook]
Profits were down at JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, two of the nation’s biggest banks, they reported on Friday, yet their results largely surpassed expectations. The results suggested the economy was in solid shape, in keeping with recent data on jobs and inflation, although bank executives warned of looming risks….
JPMorgan’s chief financial officer described a “Goldilocks” situation: While the bank said on Friday that mortgage applications had risen slightly after the Fed’s decision, the fact that the central bank slashed rates so much could been taken as a worrying sign for the economy.
JPMorgan Calls It: The U.S. Economy Has Made a Soft Landing [WSJ]
“These results are consistent with a soft landing,” Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said on a conference call. “That’s pretty consistent with this kind of Goldilocks economic situation….”
“The consumer is fine and remains in effect on strong footing,” Barnum said.
Tesla shares drop 8% after Cybercab robotaxi reveal ‘underwhelmed’ investors [CNBC]
[Elon] Musk said the company hopes to be producing the Cybercab before 2027, but offered no details on where the cars will be manufactured. He said consumers would be able to buy a Tesla Cybercab for a price tag under $30,000….
After the event, analysts at Jeffries published a note titled “We, underwhelmed….”
“As expected, like prior Tesla product unveils, the event was light on the details, and instead emphasized the vision underpinning Tesla’s growth endeavors in AI/AV,” Barclays’ analysts wrote.
BlackRock Hits $11.5 Trillion With Push into Private Markets [Bloomberg via Yahoo!]
Investors added $97 billion to exchange-traded funds and $63 billion to fixed-income overall in the third quarter, New York-based BlackRock said Friday in a statement. BlackRock has pulled in $360 billion of total net inflows so far this year, surpassing the full-year net flows of 2022 and 2023.
SEC Charges Crypto Trading Giant Cumberland DRW in Latest Regulatory Crackdown [CoinMarketCap via Yahoo!]
The Chicago-based crypto trader, accused of operating as an unregistered dealer, allegedly processed over $2 billion worth of digital assets that the SEC considers securities…. Cumberland, the crypto trading arm of investment firm DRW, invoked its successful defense against a 2018 Commodities and Futures Trading Commission lawsuit, saying, “We’re ready to defend ourselves again.”
France freaks out over proposed sale of paracetamol-maker to American fund [Politico]
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said on Friday that it was in talks to sell a majority stake of its subsidiary that produces over-the-counter drugs to an American private equity firm CD&R for €15 billion…. Mere hours after Sanofi announced that it was in talks to sell the subsidiary, Opella, as part of its push to focus on vaccines and innovative drugs, the French government warned that if CD&R did not keep the company’s management and production in France, it would consider using its investment screening and veto powers.