Dow dropped 60, decliners over advancers 5-2 & NAZ fell 25. The MLP fell 3+ to the 451s & the REIT index was up pennies to 299. Junk bond funds were mixed while Treasuries gained on dreary economic news. Oil fell, dragged down by a
combination of lukewarm forecasts for demand & ample supplies. Gold tumbled to the lowest price
since the end of 2011 on signs that investors are favoring the
dollar & equities as the global economy recovers.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Photo: Yahoo
Retail Sales in U.S. Dropped in March by Most in Nine Month
Photo: Yahoo
JPMorgan Chase, a Dow stock, reported quarterly profit that topped expectations & increased its div, but shares dipped as loan growth slowed & net revenue fell. The largest US bank had EPS of $1.59 on revenue of $25.8B. It raise the div to 38¢ a share from the current 30¢ & said it repurchased $2.6B while planning to buy another $6B over the next 12 months. Expectations were for EPS of $1.39 on $25.86B in revenue. Net revenue came in at $11.6B, a 6% decrease from last year, while net income fell from $2.9B to $2.6B. Despite a wave of negative headlines stemming primarily from the $6B London Whale trading debacle as well as internal strife over whether Chairman & CEO Jamie Dimon should keep both roles, the company stock has done well. "JPMorgan Chase had a very good start to the year," Dimon said. "All our businesses had strong performance, and our client franchises did exceptionally well." The stock slipped back pennies.
JPMorgan 33% Profit Jump Beats Estimates on Reserve Releases
Photo: Bloomberg
Wells Fargo, the nation's biggest mortgage lender, said Q1 profit surged 23% after it cut expenses which fell nearly 5%, helped by lower borrowing costs & a wrongful foreclosure settlement that ended fees to consultants. The lower costs offset a slight decline in revenue as mortgage lending slowed. EPS was 92¢, beating the 89¢ forecast. But revenue fell 2% to $21.3B & missed expectations. The bank's expenses fell $593M to $12.4B & should fall further from in Q2. WFC & 9 other banks reached with the gov in Jan to end charges that they had wrongfully foreclosed on some homeowners. Costs associated with reviewing its foreclosure policies had amounted to about $125M per qtr. WFC will pay $766M & set aside an extra $1.2B for "foreclosure prevention actions," such as modifying mortgages for struggling homeowners. The Federal Reserve (FED) said last month that Wells Fargo passed its annual checkup, a "stress test" to measure how a bank would fare in a severe recession & cleared the bank to raise its quarterly div by a nickel to 30¢. The bank's stock fell 67¢.
Wells Fargo’s Cost Cuts Boost Income as Revenue Slips
The first major banks to report earnings got a cheerless reception, not a good sign going forward. Of course, the markets are vastly overbought & many have forgotten about a market decline after months of a virtually straight up run. While today's decline is nothing out of the ordinary, these earnings reports could be setting the stage for more of the same which would bring additional selling.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Treasury yields:
U.S. 3-month |
0.058% | |
U.S. 2-year |
0.228% | |
U.S. 10-year |
1.740% |
| CLK13.NYM | ...Crude Oil May 13 | ...91.47 |  ......2.04 | (2.2%) |
| GCJ13.CMX | ....Gold Apr 13 | ...... | .1,535.00 | ...29.30 | (1.9%) |
Photo: Yahoo
Sales at US retailers fell in Mar from Feb, indicating that
higher taxes weak hiring may have made some consumers more cautious
about spending. Retail sales declined 0.4% last month, according to the Commerce Dept. That followed a 1% gain in
Feb & a 0.1% decline in Jan (both Feb & Jan
figures were revised lower). Consumers cut back across a wide range of categories last month.
Sales at auto dealers dropped 0.6%. Gas station sales dropped 2.2%, partly reflecting lower prices. Excluding the volatile categories of autos, gas & building
materials, core sales dropped 0.2% in Mar. That followed a gain
of 0.3% in Feb. Department stores, electronics retailers & sporting goods outlets all reported lower sales. The increase in Social Security taxes, which kicked in on Jan 1, has
lowered take-home pay this year for nearly all workers. Someone earning
$50K has about $1K less to spend in 2013. A household with 2
high-paid workers has up to $4.5K less. Growth for the rest of the year will depend on what happens with hiring.
Retail Sales in U.S. Dropped in March by Most in Nine Month
Photo: Yahoo
JPMorgan Chase, a Dow stock, reported quarterly profit that topped expectations & increased its div, but shares dipped as loan growth slowed & net revenue fell. The largest US bank had EPS of $1.59 on revenue of $25.8B. It raise the div to 38¢ a share from the current 30¢ & said it repurchased $2.6B while planning to buy another $6B over the next 12 months. Expectations were for EPS of $1.39 on $25.86B in revenue. Net revenue came in at $11.6B, a 6% decrease from last year, while net income fell from $2.9B to $2.6B. Despite a wave of negative headlines stemming primarily from the $6B London Whale trading debacle as well as internal strife over whether Chairman & CEO Jamie Dimon should keep both roles, the company stock has done well. "JPMorgan Chase had a very good start to the year," Dimon said. "All our businesses had strong performance, and our client franchises did exceptionally well." The stock slipped back pennies.
JPMorgan 33% Profit Jump Beats Estimates on Reserve Releases
JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
Photo: Bloomberg
Wells Fargo, the nation's biggest mortgage lender, said Q1 profit surged 23% after it cut expenses which fell nearly 5%, helped by lower borrowing costs & a wrongful foreclosure settlement that ended fees to consultants. The lower costs offset a slight decline in revenue as mortgage lending slowed. EPS was 92¢, beating the 89¢ forecast. But revenue fell 2% to $21.3B & missed expectations. The bank's expenses fell $593M to $12.4B & should fall further from in Q2. WFC & 9 other banks reached with the gov in Jan to end charges that they had wrongfully foreclosed on some homeowners. Costs associated with reviewing its foreclosure policies had amounted to about $125M per qtr. WFC will pay $766M & set aside an extra $1.2B for "foreclosure prevention actions," such as modifying mortgages for struggling homeowners. The Federal Reserve (FED) said last month that Wells Fargo passed its annual checkup, a "stress test" to measure how a bank would fare in a severe recession & cleared the bank to raise its quarterly div by a nickel to 30¢. The bank's stock fell 67¢.
Wells Fargo’s Cost Cuts Boost Income as Revenue Slips
Wells Fargo (WFC)
The first major banks to report earnings got a cheerless reception, not a good sign going forward. Of course, the markets are vastly overbought & many have forgotten about a market decline after months of a virtually straight up run. While today's decline is nothing out of the ordinary, these earnings reports could be setting the stage for more of the same which would bring additional selling.
Dow Jones Industrials
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