Hello friends and Fortune readers.
While much of the chatter today will focus on results from major banks, including J.P. Morgan (JPM), there’s a lot of other news out there to satisfy business readers. Google (GOOG), for example, is planning to expand its delivery service and will begin to charge a membership fee — a move that better positions it to challenge rival Amazon.com (AMZN). Meanwhile, chipmaker Intel (INTC) will release quarterly results later today, projecting revenue for the period between $13.9 billion to $14.9 billion — above what the company reported in the second quarter.
Here’s what else you need to know about today.
1. J.P. Morgan kicks off earnings season a little early.
The biggest U.S. bank reported it swung to a third-quarter profit, after huge legal claims caused it to book a loss in the same quarter a year ago. J.P. Morgan’s results were issued a tad earlier than expected, after an apparently authentic document was posted on the website shareholder.com.
2. The world’s biggest banks face shortfalls.
While we’re on the subject of big banks, regulator demands may mean they need to increase their holdings of debt securities to cover losses should they collapse. The shortfall facing lenders from J.P. Morgan to HSBC Holdings could be as much as $870 billion, Bloomberg reports, citing estimates from AllianceBernstein Ltd.
3. Europe issues another woeful report.
Factory output across the 18 countries that use the euro slumped in August, results that were foreshadowed by figures released last week that showed significant weakness in German manufacturing activity. The decline suggests it is possible for the third quarter as a whole will be lower than the second quarter, when factory output grew modestly, according to The Wall Street Journal.
4. Google expands delivery service.
Google is planning to expand its delivery service and will begin charging a membership fee, a move that will likely intensify the company’s battle with Amazon for a slice of consumer spending. Starting Tuesday, Google is now offering the service in three new cities: Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C. (after previously serving the San Francisco Bay area and parts of Los Angeles and New York City). And kicking off this week, Google will charge $10 a month, or $95 a year, for unlimited same-day or overnight deliver on orders over $15.
5. All eyes on Intel.
Intel, seen as an industry bellwether as it makes chips running personal computers and server systems, is reporting quarterly earnings results on Tuesday after the market closes. The chipmaker discusses sales data for PC clients and other segments, so its sales can be used to extrapolate how well those businesses are performing.
