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Bank Earnings 2015: Five Headwinds to Watch for in Q4 Reports

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

bank earnings

The U.S. financial sector is in the spotlight this week when the nation's five biggest banks report Q4 earnings.

Profit expectations for financial firms have fallen overall since Q4's start. At present, analysts project a 1.7% slump in sector earnings for the October-December period. That's well below the 8% growth rate forecast at the end of September.

Here's a look at the five factors weighing on bank earnings for Q4 2014.

Stock Market Today: Banks Net Record Profits, But Stocks Slip

By , Money Morning -

The stock market today is trying to end what has been a negative week on a positive note.

Markets have traded down all week on global economic concerns and today are being held back by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) even though the two financial giants posted record earnings.

Here's what's bringing those stocks down and why consumer sentiment is at a five-year high:

  • Banks slide amid record earnings- JPMorgan and Wells Fargo each reported record quarterly profits but neither stock is surging on the results. Wells reported third-quarter net income of $4.94 billion, or 88 cents per share, up from $4.06 billion, or 72 cents a year ago and JPMorgan announced third-quarter earnings of 5.71 billion, or $1.40 a share, up from $4.26 billion, or $1.02 a share a year earlier. The record results were spurred by homeowners taking advantage of lower interest rates in order to refinance their mortgages. "The one big positive is clearly mortgage origination revenues," Richard Staite, an analyst at Atlantic Equities LLP in London, told Bloomberg News in an interview before results were announced. "Rates will remain at this level or potentially drop further and ultimately that will drive a recovery in the housing market."

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