Investment bank, cost cuts help HSBC top forecasts | Reuters

Investment bank, cost cuts help HSBC top forecasts | Reuters: (Reuters) - "HSBC beat expectations with an underlying first-quarter profit of $6.8 billion as Europe's biggest bank saw a rebound in investment banking, growth in Asia and a fall in U.S. bad debts."

And to do so HSBC laid off 14,000 people.