- NEW YORK (Reuters)
- J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Inc. on Tuesday denied rumors in European
markets that it was having liquidity problems. ADVERTISEMENT
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- "The rumors are untrue and irresponsible,"
a spokesman for J.P. Morgan, the No. 2 U.S. bank holding company, said
in New York.
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- The bank's stock fell in European trade. Dealers there
cited rumors of liquidity problems. J.P. Morgan shares also dropped 4.1
percent, or $1.24 a share, to $28.84 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
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- J.P. Morgan, scheduled to report second-quarter results
on Wednesday, is expected to earn 65 cents a share, or nearly double what
what it earned a year earlier, according to analysts polled by market data
firm Thomson First Call.
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- Corporate loan problems have beset J.P. Morgan in recent
quarters. The bank was a leading lender to bankrupt energy trader Enron
Corp. and also to telecommunications company WorldCom Group, which recently
disclosed what could be one of the largest accounting frauds ever.
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- J.P. Morgan, whose year-over-year profits have dropped
each quarter since the December 2000 merger of Chase Manhattan and J.P.
Morgan, said on June 26 its exposure to WorldCom was very small and it
would have no material effect on earnings, although it would not disclose
the amount it is owed.
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- WorldCom also moved on Monday to finalize a funding agreement
with lenders including J.P. Morgan that would give the phone company money
to operate during a possible bankruptcy reorganization.
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