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Here is our story on British Land looking to acquire more out-of-town retail parks, as it expects consumers will still want to shop at open-air locations that are accessible by car even after pandemic lockdown measures are eased.
Related: British Land bets on open-air retail parks to lure shoppers after Covid
While this welcome decision is a tactical one, it also symbolises a realistic commitment to investing in re-establishing a strong retail portfolio that more accurately meets customer needs – facilitated of course by the legal framework now in place for gradual reopening. The supply chain and warehouse related capabilities needed to support this retail refresh are not to be underestimated though, and may well prove to be a deal breaker where competitive edge is concerned.
JP Morgan Chase has also reported bumper profits, despite a weaker performance from its consumer banking division, as it released more than $5bn in reserves it had set aside to cover coronavirus-driven loan defaults. It also recorded a 57% jump in investment banking revenues.
The bank’s net income leapt to $14.3bn, or $4.50 per share, in the quarter to the end of March, from $2.9bn, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected earnings of $3.10 per share. Revenues climbed 14% to $33.1bn.
We believe that the economy has the potential to have extremely robust, multi-year growth. Our credit reserves of $26 billion are appropriate and prudent, all things considered.
JP Morgan’s results were breathtakingly good, with the bank’s earnings surging to achieve a 23% return on equity. The bank’s corporate and investment banking arm had another very strong quarter, with equities growing at 47%. There was some softness in consumer banking, which lost 6% in revenues as loans faltered, despite consumers depositing ever larger amounts of cash with the bank.
A one-time effect is all the money that JP Morgan squirrelled away last year during the beginnings of the Covid crisis. It is now increasingly clear that the bank over-reserved, and that money is now flowing back into its earnings, concealing some of the weakness in consumer banking. But overall this was a great quarter for JP Morgan.
