Tax cuts and higher interest rates help boost banks’ earnings
America’s big six have their best quarter since the financial crisis
SO THIS is how normality feels. Between April 13th and April 18th America’s biggest banks reported a strong set of first-quarter earnings, with a helping hand from the taxman. Some are more profitable than they have been for years. They are paying billions to shareholders; regulatory reins are being loosened. Yet the stockmarket shrugged. On April 18th the S&P 500 index of banks’ share prices was 4.1% lower than at the start of reporting season.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Spring in their step”
Finance & economics April 21st 2018
- After a good run of growth, China’s economy braces for bumps
- A Victorian survivor
- Tax cuts and higher interest rates help boost banks’ earnings
- Coco bonds have not lived up to their promise
- Indicators that signal financial-market trouble are flashing
- America’s Treasury refrains from naming any currency manipulators
- Hong Kong defends its dollar peg in both directions
- Economists still lack a proper understanding of business cycles
From the April 21st 2018 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Finance & economics
Can anything spark Europe’s economy back to life?
Mario Draghi, the continent’s unofficial chief technocrat, has a plan
Has social media broken the stockmarket?
That is the contention of Cliff Asness, one of the great quant investors
American office delinquencies are shooting up
How worried should investors be?
China is suffering from a crisis of confidence
Can anything perk up its economy?
America has a huge deficit. Which candidate would make it worse?
Enough policies have been proposed to make a call
Why Oasis fans should welcome price-gouging
There are worse things in life than paying a fair price