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Thursday October 28, 9:46 am Eastern Time
Japan Suspends Cresvale Two Months
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's financial authorities ordered a two-month suspension Thursday on Martin A. Armstrong Jr.'s company in Tokyo following charges they were engaged in a $1 billion (113.8 billion yen) securities fraud.
Cresvale International Ltd.'s Tokyo office was ordered to shut down all of its securities operations between Nov. 1 and Jan. 14, 2000.
Government regulators had previously suspended Cresvale's securities operations between Oct. 4 and Oct. 24. The latest suspension was laid down after the Securities Exchange and Surveillance Commission, Japan's securities industry watchdog, recommended further punishment.
Armstrong, a well-known Princeton, N.J.-based market forecaster, was arrested and indicted in the United States recently. He has pleaded innocent and is free on $5 million bail.
Cresvale executives are accused of giving kickbacks to Japanese companies and providing false information about investments. Cresvale marketed interest-bearing promissory notes to about 100 Japanese companies, which the company now cannot repay.
Cresvale sold the notes, which were issued through Princeton Economics International Ltd. The money was invested by Armstrong, who had pledged to put the money in government bonds, but instead lost at least $500 million investing in risky futures and options.
biz.yahoo.com
Wednesday October 20 12:34 PM ET
Chase, Republic, Regional Show Profit
By Mary Kelleher
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The No. 2 U.S. bank, Chase Manhattan Corp., Republic New York Corp (NYSE:RNB <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=rnb&d=t> - news <http://biz.yahoo.com/n/r/rnb.html>). and big regional banks posted large profit gains in the third quarter, as trading and investment banking rebounded after shortfalls last year stemming from global market turmoil.
Chase, which plans to buy West coast investment bank Hambrecht & Quist Group earned $1.19 billion, or $1.37 a share in the quarter, up from 94 cents a share, or $837 million in the year-ago quarter, including one-time items.
Trading and investment banking aided the bank's results, which were 5 cents better than expected, according to First Call/Thomson Financial, which tracks analysts' estimates.
Global market upheaval following Russia's devaluation and economic crises in Asia battered many banks' profits last year, skewing comparisons. But trading and investment banking results have recovered this year, although third-quarter revenues ebbed a bit from the second quarter as the stock market faltered.
Republic, which plans to merge with British bank HSBC Holdings, earned $126.5 million, or $1.15 a diluted share, in the third quarter, compared with a $92.7 million, or 96 cents a share, net loss in the year-ago quarter, when it absorbed $190.7 million in Russian losses.
Fleet Boston Corp (NYSE:FLT <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=flt&d=t> - news <http://biz.yahoo.com/n/f/flt.html>)., the New England banking giant just formed by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston, said net income totaled $711 million, or 74 cents a share, in the quarter, topping analysts' consensus by a penny. In the year-earlier period, it earned $506 million, or 52 cents a share. Numbers from both were restated to reflect the merger of Fleet Financial and BankBoston, it said.
Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank Corp (NYSE:PNC <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=pnc&d=t> - news <http://biz.yahoo.com/n/p/pnc.html>)., with a foothold in the Mid-Atlantic region, reported a 14 percent jump in third-quarter profits, to $320 million, or $1.06 a share, including a branch sale gain. Strong fee income from asset management and mutual fund servicing drove profits.
Chase's share price Wednesday gained 2-11/16 to 73-13/16, Republic's added 1/16 to 61-3/4, and Fleet Boston's was flat at 37-9/16. But PNC dipped 1/8 to 53.
``This is another strong quarter, with each of major business lines -- global banking, global services and national consumer services -- producing income growth of 25 percent or more and return on equity in excess of 20 percent,' Chase President and Chief Executive William Harrison Jr. said.
Chase's quarterly trading revenues were $679 million, sharply up from $76 million in the year-ago quarter but below the $733 million in the second quarter as market activity fell sequentially. Investment banking fees were $486 million -- its second-highest quarter ever -- up from $322 million a year ago but below the record $585 million in the second quarter.
Market share gains in loan syndications, merger and acquisition advisory and corporate bond underwriting helped these results, the bank said.
``We believe CMB is well positioned to make our numbers and can sustain 10 percent-plus earnings growth in the future,' Henry ``Chip' Dickson, an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney wrote in a research note.
Chase's chief financial officer, Dina Dublon, told a conference call the bank had a good pipeline of investment banking deals, despite concerns the year 2000 and the possibility of technical glitches would dampen that business.
Chase also said revenues at its consumer services arm rose 9 percent to $2.50 billion, as mortgage servicing levels and credit card usage increased and regional consumer banking revenues rose 9 percent to $611 million. Global services revenues, which includes custody and its funds transfer business, rose 13 percent to $801 million in the quarter.
Republic, whose third-quarter results beat analysts' expectations of 99 cents a share by 16 percent, benefited from a rebound in trading securities and precious metals, investment gains and fee income from services to wealthy clients.
Its pending merger with HSBC, however, was delayed last month when prosecutors started a probe of Republic's futures brokerage and charged its biggest client, Martin Armstrong, with massive securities fraud.
At Fleet Boston, net interest income rose $105 million to $1.7 billion, driven by growth in interest earning assets and the purchase of Sanwa Business Credit earlier in the year. The bank's non-interest income rose 37 percent to $1.7 billion, helped by strong gains in capital markets, investment services and credit card revenues.
Fleet Boston said capital markets revenue doubled to $471 million, partly due to higher investment banking fees at Robertson Stephens. Investment services revenue jumped 22 percent to $363 million, benefiting from its brokerage and clearing operations at its Quick & Reilly unit.
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