Trading conditions

Published May 12, 2005

NEW YORK, May 11: J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s chief financial officer said on Wednesday trading conditions in the second quarter have been “tough” so far, echoing a similar assessment made by another top Wall Street executive a day earlier. The No. 3 US bank’s CFO Michael Cavanagh told a conference in New York of difficult trading conditions compared with the first quarter, saying “it continues to be a tough environment.” The difference between short-term rates, at which banks borrow cash, and long-term rates at which they lend, has shrunk, pinching a lucrative source of income for banks and brokerages.—Reuters