Prudent lending pays off

These two leading banks continue to benefit as more borrowers repay their loans on time. That’s helping them offset weaker demand for new residential mortgages and business loans. As well, both firms continue to cut costs, which gives them more room to raise their dividends… Read More

J.P. MORGAN CHASE CO. $57 – New York symbol JPM

J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO. $57 (New York symbol JPM; Income Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 3.8 billion; Market cap: $216.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. jpmorganchase.com) cut its loan-loss provisions by 78.0% in the second quarter of 2013,… Read More

Easy ways to track the top stock indexes

Most U.S. markets have risen lately, while Canada’s resource-heavy Toronto Stock Exchange has lagged. But as always, both remain subject to unexpected downturns. Even so, the long-term outlook is for higher stock prices. One way to profit from rising markets is to add exchange traded… Read More

Record profits for J.P. Morgan

J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO. $49 (New York symbol JPM; Income Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 3.8 billion; Market cap: $186.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.jpmorganchase.com) earned a record $6.5 billion in the three months ended March 31, 2013… Read More

Pat, could I get your opinion on a recovery in the U.S. banking sector and investing in the BMO Equal Weight U.S. Banks Hedged to CAD Index ETF? Thanks.

The outlook for U.S. banks is mixed. For some, such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.—a buy recommendation of our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter—the outlook is positive.

J.P. Morgan, $50.48, symbol JPM on New York (Shares outstanding: 3.8 billion; Market cap: $193.2 billion; www.jpmorgan.com),… Read More