Iloyd blankfein may travel by train rather than private jet these days, but the firm he heads has moved back into the fast lane. On April 13th Goldman Sachs kicked off the banks' earnings season in impressive fashion: the $1.8 billion of net profit it posted for the first quarter smashed analysts' forecasts, leaving them wondering, if only for a moment, whether they were back in 2006. At the same time, Goldman cheekily raised more than $5 billion of common equity to help pay back the $10 billion of taxpayer money it was arm-twisted into taking last October.rnGoldman is keen to distinguish itself from weaker banks, but optimists see its results as part of a pattern of recovery for the industry. JPMorgan Chase reported stron-ger-than-expected results on April 16th. Wells Fargo expects to post record quarterly profits, largely thanks to surging mortgage refinancing as interest rates have fallen. Optimism about banks' performance has given their shares a much-needed lift from their March lows (see chart). Hope is growing that, with markets thawing and the yield curve steeper, allowing banks to lend at higher rates than those at whichrnthey borrow, many will be able to earn their way out of trouble. The reality may be less cheering.
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