JPMorgan Q3 profits surge on investment gains

US banking giant JPMorgan Chase's third quarter earnings surged 34 percent on a turnaround in the bank's own investment activities and improvement in most other business areas, the company said Friday. Net income for the period to September 30 was $5.71 billion, up from $4.26 billion a year ago and from $4.96 billion the previous quarter. Earnings per share for the quarter was $1.40, up from $1.02 a year earlier. The rebound came mainly from a reversal of losses in its own investment operations, the Chief Investment Office, where the company racked up massive losses early this year in the "London Whale" derivatives trading debacle. The CIO and treasury operations, together with private equity, turned a $645 million loss a year ago, and a $1.78 billion loss the previous quarter, into a $221 million gain in the most recent quarter. The earnings boost was also helped by a decrease in provisioning: the bank set aside another $1.79 billion for possible losses, down 26 percent from a year earlier. Chief executive Jamie Dimon said he saw improvements in most areas of business, adding that the bank believes the US housing market "has turned the corner" allowing it to cut its mortgage-related loss reserves by $900 million. "These results reflected continued momentum in all our businesses," Dimon said.