Opening Bell: 04.14.10

JPMorgan Reports $3.3 Billion Profit (MarketWatch)
The bank said today its first-quarter net income was $3.3 billion, or 74 cents a share, compared to net income of $2.1 billion, or 40 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Total net revenue was $27.7 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had expected, on average, profit of 65 cents a share on revenue of $25.9 billion.

Property Loss Pounds Morgan Stanley (WSJ)
Morgan Stanley has told investors in its $8.8 billion real-estate fund that it may lose nearly two-thirds of its money from bum property investments, according to fund documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. That would likely make it the biggest dollar loss—$5.4 billion—in the history of private-equity real-estate investing.

JPMorgan Executive Mobbed By Angry Borrowers (Reuters)
The JPM executive was at a congressional hearing in Washington when a lawmaker asked him who mortgage borrowers could turn to if they felt his bank's employees were not helping them hold onto their homes. "Come to me," said David Lowman, chief executive for JPMorgan Chase's home mortgage business in response to the question from Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank. Minutes later, around 50 borrowers burst from the audience and presented Lowman with a a 6-page document alleging his bank reneged on a pledge to help struggling homeowners. The activist who organized the protest said Lowman did not want to talk and left the hearing. "He ran. He ran like a dog with its tail between his legs," said Bruce Marks of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), which helps homeowners avoid foreclosure. "He was scared to death because he doesn't really want to talk to homeowners."

UBS Defends Pay Policies (WSJ)
Requiring a bank to "refrain from paying any bonuses at all and not permitting it to pay compensation in line with market rates means taking away its chances for recovery and survival," Chairman Kaspar Villiger said. "That is why I strongly reject the criticism of our remuneration policy. It fails to acknowledge the realities," he added. In a prepared speech, Chief Executive Oswald Grübel said UBS "is back in business again," but it still needs to restore investor trust and stem the outflow of funds. "The fact that we will continually be confronted with mistakes from the past is a reality we have to live with," he said.

Dear Professor Krugman... (Dealbook)
Sorkin's response to this: "I appreciate that you may have articulated the details of your views differently, or more specifically, in other columns and forums. And I appreciate that you could quibble with my words. But I do think it is clear that both you and Mr. Roubini had pressed for a Swedish-style nationalization. (By the way, at the time, I had thought the Swedish model was a pretty interesting approach, too.) Again, I love reading your column, and the bailouts are certainly an issue that is the subject of much debate. Best, Andrew."

George Soros Warns About Greek 'Debt Spiral' (CNBC)
The investor believes that the rescue package is only "a little step" that may not stop Athens falling into a "debt spiral". In comments picked up by AFP in London Soros said that while the 5 percent rate at which the EU is willing to make loans to Greece is "better than the market is willing to offer…a rescue package should offer concessionary rates."

Bank of America Names Outsider As CFO (WSJ)
The 57-year-old Charles Noski most recently was finance chief at defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp., which he left in 2005. As chief financial officer at AT&T Corp. from 1999 to 2002, he had a reputation on Wall Street as a straight-shooter amid the telecommunications giant's scramble to cut its debt load.

Spitzer spent 100G on girls (NYP)
More on this later, natch.

WaMu CEO: "I don't trust Goldy" (Crain's)
"I don't trust Goldy on this. They are smart, but this is swimming with the sharks. They were shorting mortgages big time while they were giving CfC advice. [CfC appears to be Countrywide Financial Corp.] I trust Lehman more for something this sensitive. But we would need to assess if they have the smarts we need."

Fed Shouldn’t Reveal Crisis Loans, Banks Vow to Tell High Court (Bloomberg)
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled March 19 that the central bank must release the documents. A three-judge panel of the appellate court rejected the Fed’s argument that disclosure would stigmatize borrowers and discourage banks from seeking emergency help. “Our member banks are very concerned about real-time disclosure of information that could cause a run on the banks,” said Paul Saltzman, the group’s general counsel, in an interview yesterday. “We’re not going to let the Second Circuit opinion stand without seeking a review.”