Earnings per share were US$0.07, down from US$0.86 in the fourth quarter of 2007.

For the full year 2008, net profit was US$5.6 billion, or US$1.37 per share, down 64 per cent from US$15.4 billion, or US$4.38 per share, in 2007.

'Our fourth-quarter financial results were very disappointing, driven by a loss in investment banking largely attributable to continued markdowns on leveraged loans and mortgage trading positions, as well as weak trading results,' said JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon. -- AFP