Four executives have departed from the firm's 15-member operating committee in the last year, including, of course, Ina Drew, the firm's former chief investment officer who fell on her sword following the multi-billion trading loss associated with the London Whale. In the shake up that followed, younger executives Mike Cavanagh and Matt Zames rose to new prominence, while Jes Staley, once thought to be a possible successor to Jamie Dimon, went off to audition for Barclays top job.

Then Barry Zubrow, the firm's head of regulatory affairs and former chief risk officer, said he would retire at the end of the year, followed by a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday that chief financial officer Doug Braunstein would exit his current post for a new role at the bank sometime over the next two quarters.

Fortunately for the kibbitzers among us, JPMorgan had a conference call to discuss third-quarter earnings scheduled for the this morning.

"I find it truly irritating that people yak to the press like that," Mr. Dimon said when asked about Mr. Braunstein's future at the firm. "Doug is a top CFO, we will let you know when and if he moves on, not through gossip and the press."

And so we thought that was that, at least for now, until the end of the call when Mr. Dimon was asked whether he had any closing comments.

"I'm surprised no one mentioned how handsome Doug Braunstein looked in the Journal," he said.

Which is to say, a court in Ghana ruled in favor of Mr. Singer yesterday, affirming the hedge fund manager's right to seize a training ship owned by the Argentinean navy over unpaid sovereign bonds. The Elliott Management affiliate contesting the issue is believed to be asking $20 million to return the three-masted frigate.

When you say not-nice things about people, they tend to say not-nice things about you, at any rate, that's been the case for Greg Smith, noted ping pong enthusiast and author of the forthcoming memoir, Why I Left Goldman Sachs. With the book set to come out next week, some Goldman bankers chatted up the Financial Times, telling the paper that until shortly before Mr. Smith's resigned on the op-ed page of The New York Times, he'd seemed more concerned with how much money he was making, and less interested in what he later labeled Goldman's toxic culture.

In other news, 99 percent of the times Goldman bankers used the word "muppet" they were referring to last year's movie, again, according to the FT.

Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein would pay higher taxes if it meant he didn't have to read Mr. Smith's book, or you know, if it would reduce the national debt or something.

JPMorgan said third-quarter profit rose 34 percent from a year ago as revenue from mortgage-lending rose.

The firm's chief financial officer Doug Braunstein is considering a new role at the bank, according to Bloomberg. Head of regulatory affairs and former chief risk officer Barry Zubrow was said last week to be retiring at the end of the year.

Morgan Stanley and IKB are being sued for selling mortgage-backed securities that quickly soured, turnabout for IKB, which has often been on the other side of mortgage lawsuits.

Brian Moynihan is still planning on letting go 30,000 employees.

Larry Ellison may be bidding on sports and entertainment giant Anschultz Entertainment Group, according to Reuters.

Alexander Rekeda, a former trader at Mizuho Financial Group, was the rare distinction being charged over two separate derivatives deals he structured in the run-up to the financial crisis.

Muni-rigging trial: Three former UBS employees go on trial today on charges they fixed bids on municipal bond investment contracts. Three employees of GE Capital were convicted on similar charges in May, though those defendants have asked the trial judge to toss out that verdict; banks have paid more than $700 million to settle charges arising from the probe that lands the former UBS bankers in court today.

Rapid rise: Matt Zames, the JPMorgan executive elevated by CEO Jamie Dimon to staunch losses on positions amassed by the trader known as the London Whale, is a "mathematician and a poet," apparently. The 41-year-old graduate of MIT's Sloan School of Business took charge of the firm's chief investment office in May to wind down positions that led the bank to billions in losses. Last week, Mr. Zames was named co-chief operating officer, placing him in charge of more experienced executives such as chief financial officer Doug Braunstein and head of regulatory affairs Barry Zubrow.

Whither Europe: European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has gone on the offensive, first signaling that the ECB would not allow the euro to fail, then working to build consensus for a plan to ease the region's sovereign debt woes. Count Paul Krugman as among the doubters. CEOs in London for the Summer Olympics are privately voicing concern about the state of the British economy, according to The Financial Times.

Hard to do: Bank of American explored a possible breakup in 2010 and 2011, The Wall Street Journal reports, but decided against splitting off Merrill Lynch or Countrywide units.

Drink up: Funds that invest in tangible assets such as wine, art and classic cars are attracting investors amid fears that the world's currencies are unstable.

Not so fast: The Securities and Exchange Commission froze the accounts of traders who allegedly made $13 million illegally trading ahead of the Chinese offshore oil explorer Cnooc's $15 billion acquisition of Calgary-based Nexen last week.

Provisions: HSBC set aside $700 million to cover U.S. regulatory matters after the bank was scolded by Congress for lax anti-money laundering standards and amid ongoing inquiries into Libor-rigging at banks worldwide.