Wall Street job losses are surprisingly low, and firms eye record profits

Main Street is reeling from mounting job losses and a grim outlook by Federal Reserve officials. Wall Street, on the other hand, may be enjoying a sharp rebound.

On Tuesday, a report by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli forecast that the number of vanishing finance jobs may be far lower than anticipated. Job cuts may not exceed 35,000 -- close to losses following the relatively minor recession of 2001, and much lower than the 47,000 officials had forecast while preparing New York City's budget in June. A year ago, many had forecast job losses exceeding 80,000.