JP Morgan makes record quarterly profit

JP Morgan has reported record first quarter profits of $6.5bn (£4.2bn) and says there are signs the US economy is "healthy and getting stronger".

The bank said it had reported a strong performance across all businesses.

Retail banking deposits rose 10%, new mortgage orders rose 37% and the company said it had kept the top spot for earnings from investment banking.

JP Morgan said it had cut mortgage loan loss reserves by $650m and property asset reserves by $500m.

The bank was also boosted by a big drop in spending on litigation, which was $0.3bn in the first quarter of 2013 compared with $2.7bn a year earlier.

JP Morgan was struck by massive losses last year as a result of the "London Whale" trades, which cost the bank $6bn.

These came in the corporate and private equity division, which recorded a profit of $250m in the quarter compared with a loss of $1bn in the same period a year earlier.