Confidence is up due to the fragile recovery on Wall Street

It was hard to imagine just months ago…first Goldman Sachs and now JP Morgan, reporting stellar profits last quarter.

John Harwood the CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent said, “Some of the financial institutions that taxpayer money helped pull out of the difficult crisis that we had last year are now in a position because so many competitors are weak they can make huge profits.“

Citigroup and Bank of America are on track to report good news too.

And it’s not just banks.  Today IBM joins Intel in reporting it blew through second quarter profit projections.  That means more confidence going forward.

Bob Doll the Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Global Equities of BlackRock said, “That does give them some flexibility, when they have some more confidence and that’s going to take some more time, to actually spend some time and actually hire some workers.“

Analysts say joblessness threatens progress.

It’s fueling the foreclosure rate, now at a record.
Maricella Kitchener in San Diego could lose her home as soon as next week, unable to pay or work out a new plan with a lender.
“The worst-case scenario is I’m gonna end up without out my house and I’m nervous, very nervous,“ Kitchener said.

Critics ask where’s the mortgage relief President Obama promised in February?

So far only 325-thousand homeowners have been helped.

Steve O’Conner of Mortgage Bankers Association said, “I think it’s important to give the program some time to work and assess where it may need to be improved.“

Banks are under pressure from bad loans, not just home mortgages, but credit cards and commercial real estate too.

JP Morgan, for one, has set aside thirty billion to cover future losses.