Banks, Earnings & Sales Reports | featured news

Goldman Sachs earned second-quarter profits of $3.44 billion, continuing a robust turnaround since it rode out the tumultuous final months of 2008 with the help of a federal rescue.

The bank reported that its first-quarter net income more than tripled, to $4.2 billion, largely beating analyst expectations.

The bank’s reported income of $1.6 billion was helped by an accounting adjustment that allowed a one-time gain of $2.5 billion on its derivative positions.

The $2.1 billion profit in the first quarter could give investors hope that the banking stocks have reached a bottom.

UBS AG says it expects a first quarter loss of nearly 2 billion Swiss francs ($1.75 billion) and that will cut 8,700 jobs by the end of next year.

Wall Street extended its rally into a second day Wednesday as financial stocks padded their own big gains.

The Dow soars more than 300 points after the banking company reports that it was profitable through the first two months of the year. Other financial stocks also gain. Good news from a bank -- finally -- is sending the stock market to its best gain this year.

Loss included $25.2B in fourth quarter, prompting a government cash injection of $15 billion.

The Royal Bank of Scotland will later report what is expected to be the biggest annual loss in UK history.

Wells Fargo & Co. on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of about $2.6 billion as the banking giant was hit by credit write-downs while losses at Wachovia, which it recently acquired ...