BNP and UBS Optimistic

In another indication the worst of the financial crisis might be over, BNP Paribas announced higher second-quarter profit and expressed some optimism over prospects for financial markets.
France’s biggest bank by market value said its acquisition of some of the key assets of struggling European bank Fortis contributed 261 million euros to its net profit of 1.6 billion euros which was 6.5 percent from a year earlier.
At the same time .. Swiss bank UBS posted its best underlying quarterly performance in two years, though that included a loss of 1.4 billion francs (914 million euros) mostly due to one-off charges for such things as restructuring.
Chief Executive Oswald Gruebel said: “Believe me, I would rather show you that we have a profit but I think it nevertheless shows significant progress towards returning to profitability and restoring client trust.”
Gruebel also he is looking forward to “a definitive resolution” of its dispute with the US Justice Department which is trying to get the names of thousands of Americans it believes used UBS accounts to avoid paying tax.

Finance
Euronews