JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM) is in discussions to take full control of its U.K. joint-venture partner, Cazenove Group, for about £1 billion ($1.7 billion).   JPMorgan entered into a partnership with Cazenove five years ago. At that time, JPMorgan paid about £100 million for a 50% ownership in Cazenove.   Now, JPMorgan intends to buy the remaining 50% of the investment-banking partnership for 500−525 pence per share.   Chief Executive Naguib Kheraj, the former finance chief of Barclays PLC (BCS) is running JPMorgan Cazenove since last year. Cazenove first became one of London's leading stockbrokers in the mid-1930s.   Deciding on the full acquisition of Cazenove has been crucial for Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan. Dimon organized a similar purchase of the bank’s remaining stake in Highbridge Capital Management this year.   In the last few years, JPMorgan has been able to maintain its top ...

The U.S. Treasury's pay czar, who oversees compensation for the highest-paid employees at the firms that received U.S. taxpayer assistance, said on Thursday that he is concerned that pay cuts could obstruct the ability of these firms to retain and attract top talent. However, the pay czar would be open to requests to hire new executives at competitive industry rates. The pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, decides compensation packages for the highest-paid employees at the seven firms that have received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The pay restrictions were imposed on these firms to enable them to repay government money by controlling excessive pay. The seven firms, whose top 25 earners received an average 50% lower pay last month by the order of the pay czar, are American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 12, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Cisco Systems (CSCO) as the Bull of the Day and Potash Corporation (POT) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM), Citigroup Inc.(C) and Bank of America (BAC).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5506

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is a leading provider of IP-based networking and other products. The company's first quarter results were a significant improvement over prior quarters, with both revenue and earnings exceeding our expectations.

Of particular note is the growth in orders, which indicates continued business momentum. Improving operating performance, solid financials, a sound restructuring policy and new growth initiatives are the drivers behind our Outperform rating.

However,

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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 ...

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 ...

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform panel said on Wednesday that Congress will soon investigate executive compensation at companies that received significant amount of taxpayer funds. The U.S. Treasury's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg is in charge of deciding compensation packages for the highest-paid employees at all the firms that received bailout money. For seven firms, the situation is critical as these firms received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The seven firms whose compensation plans will be scrutinized are American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors and GMAC Inc (GJM). The U.S. Treasury Department is pressing bailed out insurer AIG to reduce $198 million in scheduled retention payments after the government missed the opportunity to defend against controversial bonuses to AIG employees last year. However, AIG ...

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 (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. ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 8, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Bank of America Corporation (BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM), Discover Financial Services (DFS), Citigroup (C) and Capital One Financial Corp. (COF).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

BofA Vows Not to Hike Card Rate

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) said on Tuesday that it will not raise rates or change terms on consumer credit card accounts before the new law (CARD Act) intended to reform industry practices takes

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In the course of the review of the aptness of the richest pay packages proposed by seven financial firms that received $200 billion in government aid, the U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg is planning to cut the annual cash salaries for many of the top executives whose firms accepted bailout funds. As an alternative to paying large cash salaries, the pay czar is planning to shift a large portion of an employee's annual salary to stock that cannot be accessed for several years. The percentage of salary to be diverted to stock is not yet clear, but it could be above 50% in some cases. The stock compensation would be in addition to salaries and cash bonuses. This will be an incentive for the executive to make good long-term decisions about the company. By mid-October this year, Feinberg expects to issue his judgment on compensation packages ...