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For years, credit card companies have targeted college students to gain access to a lucrative source of profits: student debt. And despite laws designed to stop the practice, colleges and universities are still taking huge payments from card companies -- at your kids' expense.

It took a while -- three years, really -- but Citigroup, by far the weakest of the big banks coming out of the recession, is starting to pull through. After this morning's second-quarter earnings report of $3.3 billion, or $1.09 per share, investors have several things to rejoice over.

JPMorgan Chase reported a second-quarter profit of $5.4 billion, or $1.27 per share this morning, up from $4.8 billion, or $1.09 per share a year ago. Digging into the earnings supplemental, we can see how -- as in previous quarters -- JPMorgan's investment bank carried the company's overall results.

The news across the financial world is good for unions, which will find organizing a bit easier; adequate for Greece, which will find getting bailed out a bit easier, and bitter for JPMorgan which had to accept a $153.6 million SEC fine for misleading investors about a mortgage securities transaction.

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.

Taking a major salary cut and delivering positive returns during the financial crisis makes JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon the "Best Value Finance CEO" as ranked by Bloomberg Markets Magazine.

Proliferating probes into Wall Street's activities don't seem to be hindering big banks' ability to make huge profits -- the big banks just ran up a 61 day streak of profitable days. Since profits are what they're all about, perhaps they don't mind that the financial reform lobbying battle is trending against them -- with Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) the latest to call for getting even tougher.

Banks make a tidy profit off ATM fees, ranging from $1 to $7, but a proposed amendment to the financial reform bill would cap fees at 50 cents per transaction. Instead of helping consumers, it may end up hurting them if banks end up closing less-profitable ATMs, limiting access to cash.

The bank's first-quarter profit of $3.3 billion, or 74 cents a share, easily beat analysts' expectations. JPMorgan's overall robust performance was undercut mainly by high losses in consumer loans.

JPMorgan was counting on a big tax refund from its Washington Mutual purchase. But WaMu bondholders say JPMorgan doesn't legally qualify for the money -- and bank regulators may be listening.