JPMorgan Chase reported a steep drop in income for the last three months of 2011, mainly due to losses in the company’s investment banking division.  JPMorgan reported a net income of $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter, a decrease of 23% from the same quarter a year before.  The company reported annual profits of $19 billion, an increase of 9% over the previous year.  JPMorgan’s chief executive,... 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has filed lawsuits against 17 banks in New York state and federal courts and in federal court in Connecticut.  The lawsuits seek to recoup $196 billion lost on mortgage-backed securities purchased by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.  The lawsuits accuse the banks of providing misleading information about the soundness of the mortgages underlying the securities...