JP Morgan

Given the sluggish recovery and a strapped consumer, you'd expect to see corporate America trudging along, not racing for glory. In fact, the Fortune 500 are thriving as a group.

For some time, investors who wanted to put their money where their morals were have chosen socially responsible investing -- steering their cash away from firms whose practices they disapproved of. Now comes impact investing, which uses invested funds to solve social or environmental goals and earn competitive returns, too.

Recent market sell-offs may have been more about paranoia than about real risk. JPMorgan calculations indicate that the potential impact of rising oil prices on the economy may be less than most investors think. But the fear factor itself also can't be overlooked.

A court-appointed trustee is suing JPMorgan Chase for its alleged involvement in Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. The investment bank was Madoff's primary bank for 20 years. JPMorgan said it didn't know about -- much less assist -- Madoff's fraud.

In a Senate panel hearing Monday, the Iowa attorney general said the problems in the home-loan industry extend well beyond just "robo-signing." A system-wide overhaul is needed, he said. But banks say any mistakes were merely procedural. Were homeowners wrongly forced out of their homes?

The Federal Reserve may soon start letting some banks boost their dividends again, according to The Wall Street Journal. If that happens, it would signal that regulators have become comfortable enough with the new financial rules to let institutions hike shareholder payouts.

Steve Black, vice chairman at JPMorgan Chase, plans to step down early next year after a decade with the firm. He headed the company's investment bank for five years and was instrumental in its Bear Stearns acquisition. What's next? He's considering several options.

GMAC, which is a unit of Ally Bank, has hired a number of accounting and legal firms to go over its foreclosure procedures.

This week marks the second anniversary of an event that shook the financial industry to its core. In her newly released book, The Weekend that Changed Wall Street, CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo gives an insider's look at the fateful days surrounding the fall of Lehman Brothers.

British defense company BAE Systems (BAESY) hired two banks to sell its U.S. component manufacturing businesses. The company confirmed Monday that it had hired Wells Fargo (WFC) and JP Morgan (JPM) "to advise on strategic options" regarding its Platform Solutions unit, including a possible sale,...