Spring in their step

摘要

SO THIS is how normality feels. Between April 13th and April 18th America's biggest banks reported a strong set of first-quarter earnings, with a helping hand from the taxman. Some are more profitable than they have been ftfif years. They are paying billions to shareholders; regulatory reins are being loosened. Yet the stock-market shrugged. On April 18th the s&p 500 index of banks' share prices was 4.1% lower than at the start of reporting season.