Wall Street is humming thanks to a boom in stock and bond trading and a pickup in corporations acquiring competitors and taking out massive loans. At the same time, Main Street is holding up as the American consumer continues to spend, borrow and repay loans, according to reports this week from the largest U.S. banks. It makes for an unusually profitable environment for financial firms. The six biggest U.S. banks generated $39 billion in second-quarter profit, outstripping analysts’ expectations and collectively jumping more than 20% from core earnings a year ago. It’s a remarkable result after a tumultuous start to the quarter. The period began with shock and plunging markets on April 2 over President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs. (L-R) Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America; Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase; and
