10 things you need to know today: July 14, 2012

JPMorgan's losses pile up, Mitt Romney fights back, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon initially estimated that his bank had lost some $2 billion in the London Whale trades, though the sum is now closer to $6 billion.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

1. JPMORGAN TRADERS' LOSSES NOW TOTAL $5.8 BILLION

After announcing that it had recorded a $5 billion second quarter profit, despite a $4.4 billion mega-loss due to bad bets, JPMorgan said Friday that a number of traders may have hidden losses that now amount to $5.8 billion for the year. The development could "result in criminal charges" against those employees. The big bets, now known as the "London Whale trades," were made on corporate debt using derivatives, and when they were first revealed in May, the company estimated then that the loss was $2 billion. JPMorgan said that in the coming weeks the bad bets could bring about another $1.7 billion in losses, but that the problems at the company's Chief Investment Office (CIO) have been fixed. At least two CIO employees have left JPMorgan since the revelation, and an investigation is ongoing. [Reuters]

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