Good News, Profit | featured news

The U.S. Treasury further reduced its stake in American International Group and said on Tuesday that the United States would now profit $15.1 billion from bailing out the insurer.

General Motors says it made $2 billion in the third quarter, a strong showing that helps the company's pitch to investors who may buy stock in an initial public offering.

General Electric Co called the end to its two-year slump on Friday, reporting earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts and saying profit should rise through the rest of 2010.

The bank, which is often considered a bellwether, said that it had clawed back to profitability in the first quarter, after two consecutive periods of losses.

The largest carmaker attributed its unexpected profit to government measures around the world designed to boost sales of environmentally friendly cars and other vehicles.

Freddie Mac reported a surprising profit in the second quarter, but the profit turned to a loss for shareholders after the company paid the U.S. government a $1.1 billion dividend.

The company, reporting its first profit since 2007, said quarterly net income was $1.8 billion.

Stocks rallied Thursday to their highest levels in at least 8 months, as investors eyed the latest batch of better-than-expected profit reports or forecasts and a report that suggested the labor market is starting to stabilize.

JPMorgan Chase becomes the second major US bank to report a big rise in profits for the April to June period.

Goldman Sachs earned second-quarter profits of $3.44 billion, continuing a robust turnaround since it rode out the tumultuous final months of 2008 with the help of a federal rescue.