According to an internal memo to all employees, JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM) will lift a salary freeze it put in place last year. The salary freeze was applicable for employees making more than $60,000 a year. The decision to lift the salary freeze is a part of JPMorgan’s compensation review process, following its profits for last several quarters in its investment-banking operations.   The bank also intends to pay a $500 special award globally to employees who receive less than $60,000 a year.   Additionally, the bank also plans to add more than 300 staff to its branches to support a $4 billion increase in small business lending in an effort to help revive the U.S economy. Also, to boost new loans and refinancing, JPMorgan will hire 1,200 mortgage loan officers by the end of 2010. This addition will increase the company’s sales force by approximately ...

This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

• John Arlidge: (Times Online): I’m doing “God’s work”. Meet Mr Goldman Sachs, November 8, 2009. The Sunday Times gains unprecedented access to the world’s most powerful, and most secretive, investment bank.

• Martha White (The Big Money): The Dow is too high, November 9 2009. What’s holding up the stock market? (It’s not the economy.)

• Rob Smyth, Bill Ryder and Ken Liu (Riverfront): Ten conditions for a sustainable recovery, November 9, 2009.

• The New York Times: Jobless recovery, November 7, 2009. We know that more stimulus spending and government programs are a fraught topic. But they are exactly what the country needs. It may be the only way to prevent a

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Morgan Stanley (MS) is pursuing a buyer to sell its 34% stake that it holds in investment bank China International Capital Corporation (CICC). Morgan Stanley’s role in CICC has been reduced to that of a passive investor, prompting the case for disinvestment. Morgan Stanley received approval from Chinese regulators early last year to sell its stake in CICC. However, it then did not opt for the disinvestment as the bids were very low at that time. As the markets have now bounced back, the company now wants to revisit the deal. Potential suitors for the divestiture in China's largest investment bank could be private equity firms, namely Bain Capital and General Atlantic. The first rounds for the bids are expected on Tuesday. The divestiture is expected to realize over $1.2 billion for Morgan Stanley. On Oct. 21, Morgan Stanley reported third-quarter 2009 income of $498 ...

According to Abdulla Salatt, chairman of the company’s fertilizer unit (QAFCO), Industries Qatar–the country’s largest firm by market cap–will increase production of urea (used as a nitrogen-release fertilizer) and related products to supply growing global demand with a specific focus on South America, and in particular, Brazil.  “We are thinking of sending more products to Brazil because it is a big agriculture country, consuming a lot of urea, and we see their appetite for urea opening up year after year,” Sowaidi told reporters.  The company is currently contemplating a proposed $610 million plant which would increase urea production to 5.6 million tons/year by 2012, up from the current rate of 3 million.  Upon completion the fertilizer unit would hold 15% of global urea production, say analysts.  Urea has the highest nitrogen content of all solid nitrogenous fertilizers in common use (46.7%).

The company overall is still reeling from recession,

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Is Warren Buffett Signaling a Housing Recovery?

by Robert Williams, Publisher Thursday, November 5, 2009

Warren Buffett is teaming-up with Goldman Sachs as the investment bank attempts to buy $3 billion of tax credits from taxpayer-owned mortgage firm Fannie Mae.

According to The Wall Street Journal, investments in low-income housing tax credits has waned dramatically in the face of the credit crisis.

Credits are being sold for between 65 cents and 79 cents on the dollar. By comparison – at the height of the real estate boom – developers were fetching 95 cents on the dollar.

(Property developers receive tax credits – worth between 30% and 60% of a project’s cost – to encourage building in low-income areas and to hold rents down. They typically then sell the credits to large financial institutions for the tax benefits they offer.)

Although Buffett and Sachs surely intend

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The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday that JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM) agreed to pay more than $700 million to settle federal regulators' charges for an unlawful payment scheme that helped them win business involving municipal-bond offerings and swap-agreement transactions in Jefferson County , Alabama. JPMorgan Securities Inc, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Company, and two of its former managing directors, Charles LeCroy and Douglas MacFaddin, made those unlawful payments to win business and earn fees. The scandal was over the county's debt of around $4 billion which was pushing the county into the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. JPMorgan Securities has agreed to pay a fine of $25 million and $50 million to Jefferson County . The company will also lose more than $647 million in claimed termination fees on the swaps. JPMorgan, LeCroy and MacFaddin were alleged to have ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 15, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Sangamo Biosciences, Inc. (SGMO) as the Bull of the Day and Conmed (CNMD) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Intel Corp. (INTC), JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM) and CSX Corp. (CSX).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Sangamo Biosciences, Inc. (SGMO) uses a proprietary ZFP gene regulation technology to discover and develop a new class of therapeutic candidates for diabetic neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, cancer and immune diseases.

We are optimistic about this novel technology. SB-509 has shown some positive results for the treatment of moderate to severe DN. We are also optimistic about other clinical programs. Further, we are impressed by the company's strategy

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        JPMorgan Chase & Company’s (JPM) third quarter earnings came in at 82 cents per share, substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 49 cents. This compares favorably with 9 cents in the prior-year quarter. Better-than-expected results were primarily aided by continued strong performance by the Investment Bank group. All the other segments except Consumer Lending and Card Services also delivered solid results during the quarter. However, a continuation of high levels of credit costs in Consumer Lending and Card Services loan portfolios and an increased provision for credit losses were the primary factors that negatively impacted the results. Net income available to common shareholders was $3.6 billion, compared to $2.7 billion in the prior quarter and $527 million in the prior-year quarter. The year-over-year increase was driven by higher net revenue, largely offset by a higher provision for credit losses and higher non-interest expense....

Shares of Broadpoint Gleacher Securities Group, Inc. (BPSG) have gained approximately 10% so far Wednesday.

< ?DART(15);?> As a result, the company is a top-performing Zacks #1 Rank today that has also enjoyed upward earnings estimate revisions in just the past week.

On what's shaping up to be another solid day for the market, volume for Broadpoint Gleacher Securities has reached more than 1.5 million shares, which is well above the daily average of around 764,000.

BPSG is an independent investment bank that provides corporations and institutional investors with strategic, research-based investment opportunities, capital raising and financial advisory services. It also offers mergers and acquisitions advisory services, as well as restructuring and recapitalization advisory services.

It is part of the financial-investment brokers industry. The only other company from this space on today's Zacks #1 Rank List is The Goldman Sachs Group,

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JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM) decided to pay $55 million to settle a lawsuit related to the losses of investors with the collapse of American Business Financial Services Inc.  American Business Financial Services filed for bankruptcy in Jan 2005 as its debts (including interest) exceed $1 billion. JPMorgan had by all accounts taken part in reporting pretended gains and assets to create the illusion that American Business Financial Services was profitable. But originally it was losing hundreds of millions of dollars.  Concurrently, other two investment banks, Credit Suisse (CS) and Morgan Stanley (MS), agreed to settle the same lawsuit. Credit Suisse agreed to pay $37.5 million and Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $7.5 million.   The settlement amount of these three banks aggregates $100 million. This is the largest settlement so far in a series of lawsuits by the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee George Miller. ...