J.P. Morgan Chase posted a record $4.83 billion quarterly profit Friday, buoyed by $2 billion in reserves added back to earnings as credit quality and the economy improved.

Fourth-quarter net income, which rose 47 percent, was $1.12 a share, compared with $3.28 billion, or 74 cents, in the same period of 2009, the company said in a statement.

J.P. Morgan, led by chief executive Jamie Dimon, was the only major U.S. bank to remain profitable throughout the financial crisis. The company's record $17.4 billion in earnings last year were boosted by roughly $7 billion in pretax reserve releases on the better economic forecast, an improvement that Dimon said he doesn't count as actual earnings.

The bank put $1.5 billion in litigation reserves to cover costs related to buying back faulty mortgages. It also set aside $2.1 billion more against soured loans from Washington Mutual, which J.P. Morgan bought in 2008.

In its investment bank, funds set aside to reward traders, dealmakers and other personnel increased 4 percent to $9.73 billion, or an average of $369,651 for each of the 26,314 workers, the company said.

- Bloomberg News

LEGAL



Investor charged with threatening regulators



A New York money manager with a long history of legal battles with the government has been charged with threatening to kill 47 U.S. officials, including the nation's top securities and commodities regulators.

Vincent McCrudden, 49, last month allegedly posted online an "execution list" naming officials, including Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.

Federal prosecutors said the threat came shortly after the CFTC brought an enforcement action accusing the former commodities trader and two of his companies with operating unregistered investments.

McCrudden threatened officials in e-mails and Web postings at the SEC, CFTC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the National Futures Association, authorities said.

"Go buy a gun, and lets [sic] get to work in taking back our country from these criminals," McCrudden allegedly wrote in a statement calling for the four regulators to be abolished. "I will be the first one to lead by example."

The arrest comes amid heightened concern for the safety of public officials after last Saturday's shooting in Tucson.

"The allegations in this complaint are incredibly frightening and intimidating to any public official," U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Thomas Boyle said at the hearing.

McCrudden, dressed in bluejeans and a black fleece sweat shirt, was denied bail and did not enter a plea.

Bruce Barket, a lawyer for McCrudden who said he was a longtime friend, told the judge his client was "a frustrated litigant who has a penchant for vulgarity." Barket also said that McCrudden does not own a gun.

- Reuters

CONSUMER SAFETY



Johnson & Johnson recalls more medicine



Johnson & Johnson said lax cleaning procedures and other problems at a manufacturing plant were at fault for massive recalls of medicines such as Tylenol, and said it was recalling nearly 50 million more bottles and packages of consumer medicines.

The health-care company's reputation has been tarnished by repeated recalls totaling nearly 200 million bottles in the last year and it could face criminal charges from the Department of Justice.

Johnson & Johnson is now recalling bottles and packages of various kinds of Tylenol, Benadryl, Rolaids and other consumer products, it said Friday.

The company said it recalled nearly 43 million bottles of Tylenol 8 Hour, Tylenol Arthritis Pain, Tylenol Upper Respiratory, Benadryl, Sudafed PE and Sinutab. Additionally, nearly 4 million bottles, rolls and packages of Rolaids were recalled.

- Reuters