JPMorgan Profit Down 76%; U.S. Foreclosures up 81% in 2008; U.S. Crude Falls 10%; Incoming SEC Chief Touts Investor Protection; Apple Without its Core; BofA Plunge; Auto Execs Uncertain

Fourth quarter profit dived 76% for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), as the financial crisis forced the bank to write down $2.9 billion in assets and increase its reserves, Bloomberg reported. The second-largest U.S. bank by assets posted a net income of $702 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with $2.97 billion, or 86 cents a share, the year earlier. One in every 54 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in 2008, an 81% annual increase and a 17% increase from November to December, Reuters reported, citing ...

The news is saturated with Hank Paulson’s $700 bailout plan. This is diverting attention away from the increasingly bleak outlook for the wider economy.

Rick Pendergraft says no bailout can immediately solve the problems in the housing market. And all indicators suggest these will run well into 2009 at least.

Rick says your portfolio should be all about playing safe for now. He recommends eight inverse ETF plays to hedge against this downside risk.

This from Investor’s Daily Edge:

I can understand the fixation on the bailout, but other economic reports are getting lost as a result.

Last Thursday was a day that the mass distraction was working to its full capabilities. Investors chose to ignore all economic data in order to focus on the progress of Congress.

In case you missed it, durable goods orders for August were down 4.5 percent from July (I guess the stimulus checks ran out), initial jobless claims jumped to …