By Staff Reporters
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Though high interest rates have consumers and businesses feeling the pinch, they’ve been a boon to the US’s largest banks. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo all had stronger-than-expected third-quarter results. In total, the banks earned $22 billion in profit, more than a third higher than in Q3 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported. Their combined revenue was $81 billion, or 14% higher than last year.
Bank stocks dipped last month following the Fed’s meeting, where it held interest rates steady. But though high rates have hurt some smaller banks, they’ve helped keep the large banks’ net interest margins healthy according to CNBC. JPMorgan’s Net Interest Income (NII) was up 30% year over year, rising to $22.9 billion. Wells Fargo’s declined slightly from last quarter, but was still 8% higher than it was last year.
The US economy remains strong, but shows some signs of slowing, bank executives said during recent earnings calls. JPMorgan and Citi took note of consumer spending, with JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum saying, “we are coming on off a very low base. And so there’s a hope and an expectation that we are on the path to normalization and improvement.”
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The average cost for a family health insurance plan offered through an employer jumped 7% this year to $23,968 − the highest rate increase in a decade, according to the annual employer health benefits survey released yesterday by KFF, a nonprofit health policy organization. Prices are far higher than they were a year ago, when premiums increased by 1%.
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Here is where the major benchmarks ended:
- The S&P 500 Index was down 58.60 points (1.3%) at 4,314.60; the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was down 332.57 points (1.0%) at 33,665.08; the NASDAQ Composite was down 219.44 points (1.6%) at 13,314.30.The 10-year Treasury note yield was up about 6 basis points at 4.906%.CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was up 1.42 at 19.30.
Weaker-than-expected quarterly results from some airlines and shipping companies weighed on the transport sector, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJT) sinking 3.4% to end near a four-month low. Financial shares were also lower, with the KBW Regional Banking Index (KRX) dropping nearly 3%. Energy was one of the few areas of strength after WTI Crude Oil futures (CLZ3) jumped above $87 a barrel to a two-week high following a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. supplies. Gold futures rose 1.4% near a two-month high.
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Filed under: "Ask-an-Advisor", Alerts Sign-Up, Experts Invited, Financial Planning, Funding Basics, Health Economics, Health Insurance, Health Law & Policy, iMBA, Inc., Investing | Tagged: banks, big banks, CBOE, Chase, CitiGroup, CNBC, crude oil, DJIA, DJT, DOW, Health Insurance, Health Insurance Costs, Jeremy Barnum, JPMorgan, KFF, KRX, NSDAQ, oil, regional banks, Russell 2000, S&P 500, VIX, Wells Fargo |
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