JP Morgan May Acquire WaMu

[TJ_98370]

.
I actually own some JP Morgan stock and was considering selling it very recently because most everything in the financial sector seems to be hurting with no relief predicted for the short term. Now I'm thinking I'll wait and watch how this plays out.



Washington Mutual, the U.S. savings and loan slammed by slumping mortgage markets, has held "very preliminary" merger talks with JPMorgan Chase, CNBC has learned.

No deal is imminent but the talks were held fairly recently.

JP Morgan also may be interested in two other regional banks, Suntrust Banks and PNC Financial Services and is likely to make an acquisition sometime this year.

News of the talks comes as Bank of America announced it will acquire another troubled mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial in a $4 billion transaction.

And as Bank of America did with Countrywide, JP Morgan Chase might first invest money in Wamu before any full-scale buyout.

Shares of Washington Mutual jumped sharply following the CNBC report......
.

[deejayoh]

I was skeptical of that story. Why a company that has managed to largely avoid the sub-prime debacle would sign up for center stage, I am not sure. Plus there is the issue of capital availability. Is an all stock deal attractive when you are 25% off your high? If it doesn't, make sense who's going to loan the money?

[perfectfire]

Things are still rosy so far at JPM, but ?

[TJ_98370]

[TJ_98370]

.
JPM stock opened up about $2 (5%) from yesterdays close.



JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Wednesday its fourth-quarter profit fell 34 percent after its exposure to subprime mortgages -- though much smaller than at banking peers like Citigroup Inc. -- devalued its portfolio by $1.3 billion.....

[TJ_98370]

.
From Calculated Risk: Mr. Dimon makes some interesting observations and some less than cheerful projections: