J.P. Morgan’s Shivers in Spring May Yield a December to Remember!

                In J.P. Morgan Shivers, Wall Street Gets a Cold, John Carney concludes that “spring on Wall Street may feel a lot like the past winter”…the winter of our discontent. Shakespeare’s play Richard III spoke of a winter “made glorious summer by this son of York.” But this is not so for J.P. Morgan’s CEO, James Dimon, a son of New York. His forecast is grim.  The “clouds that loured upon” J.P. Morgan are not yet “In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.”  He still has “stern alarums” to share for the second-quarter trading revenue, it will be down about 20%.  

            But, it is too soon to give up and cry, “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” and sell in May and run away from bank stocks.  Under-promising and over-delivering is a strategy that gives smart investors opportunities to buy stock of good companies on sale, companies like J.P. Morgan.  After all, J.P. Morgan’s zeal in conquering the compliance conundrum is bearing fruit, and the Government’s lengthy legal siege has been thwarted. The extended winter of our discontent may, yet, morph into “delightful measures!” Even though Carney observes that “April failed to bring showers of bond trading to Wall Street,” “True hope is swift, and flies with swallow’s wings; Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings”…and an inadequate April?  Into a December to remember!

Mary M. Glaser                      

Simsbury, CT

Note: 

Quotes not attributed to John Carney are from William Shakespeare’s play Richard III.