The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that when the Big Six banks released third-quarter earnings at the end of August, profits had seldom looked so good. The Globe's Tim Kiladze writes three months later, expense control is all the range and some banks are flirting with job cuts. Some chief executive officers have warned investors that their short-term profit targets will not be met. Investors got the message. Share prices for the Big Six have fallen an average of 4 per cent. Goldman Sachs unloaded a $600-million bank-heavy basket of Canadian investments late Thursday. The new outlook does not apply to all lenders. Royal Bank of Canada believes it can still grow at a fast clip next year. National Bank of Canada has shown that the troubled Quebec economy can still deliver growth, but the second- and third-largest banks have both expressed caution. TD stressed the need to "streamline our cost base" Thursday, and Bank of Nova Scotia reiterated this theme when it reported earnings Friday. Chief executive officer Brian Porter described the situation as a "perfect storm" of charges and losses. "In that regard, we're happy that 2014's over," Mr. Porter added on a conference call Friday.