Opening Bell: 07.16.10

Bank of America's profit slips, but tops estimates (MarketWatch)
The bank posted second-quarter net income of $3.12 billion, or 27 cents a share, down from $3.22 billion, or 33 cents a share, from the same period last year. That compares with analysts' consensus estimate of 22 cents a share, based on estimates compiled by FactSet Research.

Citigroup Net Income Falls 38%, Beating Analysts' Estimates (Bloomberg)
Second-quarter net income was $2.73 billion, down from $4.39 billion in the same period a year earlier, New York-based Citigroup said today in a statement. The per-share profit was 9 cents, exceeding the 5-cent average estimate of 18 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. “Citigroup, despite the turbulence in the markets, appears to have turned the corner and its plan is on track,” said James Ellman, a former Merrill Lynch & Co. bank-stock portfolio manager who is now president of San Francisco-based hedge fund Seacliff Capital.

Fabulous Fab to File Response to SEC (WSJ)
Fabrice Tourre, the only Goldman employee named as a defendant in the civil-fraud charges leveled against Goldman Sachs, is not close to settling his own case with the government, a person familiar with the matter said. The 31-year-old banker will file Monday a response to the SEC's charges of misleading investors from his role in creating complex mortgage-linked investments, the person said. That response is expected to show that Tourre is willing to take the case to court in an effort to clear his name, the person said.

RBS May Seek More After $100 Million Goldman Payout (Reuters)
RBS said on Friday it would "carefully consider all of its options" after Goldman agreed on Thursday to pay it $100 million as part of a $550 million settlement of civil fraud charges over how it marketed the subprime mortgage product. German bank IKB, the other big loser on the transaction, will be paid $150 million under the settlement, recovering all of its loss.

Juncker:No catastrophes from stress tests seen (Reuters)
"I am not expecting any big catastrophes," the chairman of euro zone finance ministers told Austrian newspaper Kurier. "But there cannot be any glossing over, the tests are based on reality," he said in an interview.

Microsoft Co-Founder to Give Away Half of His Fortune to Philanthropy (NYT)
Paul Allen, who founded the Microsoft Corporation with Bill Gates, announced on Thursday that he planned to give more than half of his estimated $13.5 billion fortune to philanthropy.

Economists Express More Optimism Than General Public (WSJ)
The majority (64%) of the 55 economists polled—not all of whom answer every question—said that the economy would get better over the next 12 months and 9% said it would get worse; the rest said it would stay about the same. In contrast, the latest WSJ/NBC News poll found 33% of the general public expected the economy to improve and 23% think it will get worse.