Opening Bell: 4.14.15

Wells Fargo Beats Estimates as Lower Rates Spur Mortgage Lending (Bloomberg)
First-quarter net income fell 1.5 percent to $5.8 billion, or $1.04 a share, from $5.89 billion, or $1.05, a year earlier, the San Francisco-based company said Tuesday in a statement. The average estimate of 24 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for profit of 98 cents a share. Net interest margin dropped below 3 percent for the first time since the 1990s.

JPMorgan Profit Rises 12% on Gains From Stock, Bond Trading (Bloomberg)
Net income rose to $5.91 billion, or $1.45 a share, from $5.27 billion, or $1.28, a year earlier, according to a statement Tuesday from New York-based JPMorgan. Thirty-one analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated per-share earnings of $1.41. Excluding 13 cents in legal expenses and about 3 cents in accounting adjustments, earnings were $1.61 a share.

GE’s Once-Sleepy Stock Turns Volatile on Finance Exit Plan (Bloomberg)
General Electric Co. posted its biggest decline since February 2014 on Monday, the first trading day after its biggest surge in more than five years. The two-day stretch, driven by GE’s April 10 decision to sell off most of its finance arm, signaled investors are reconsidering a once-sleepy stock.

Ex-JPMorgan exec staffing up new Bitcoin business (NYP)
Blythe Masters is hiring. The former JPMorgan executive — who left the bank last year amid a government inquiry into the commodities division she once helmed — hired Beth Shah, an editor at an industry magazine, to run business development at her new Bitcoin business. Shah, previously an editor at GlobalCapital Derivatives, started this month at Digital Asset Holdings, Masters’ newest venture, according to Shah’s LinkedIn profile.

License Plate With '69' Too Sexual For Vietnam Vet, DMV Says (AP)
Arnold Breitenbach of St. George sought a license plate with the designation CIB-69, representing the Combat Infantryman's Badge he received and the year he was awarded the Purple Heart. The Utah Division of Motor Vehicles denied his request, citing state regulations prohibiting the use of the number 69 because of its sexual connotations, The Spectrum newspaper of St. George reported. "While your intended meaning behind the requested plate, CIB-69, is honorable, the Division of Motor Vehicles is required to follow Utah law when approving personalized plates," Division of Motor Vehicles audit manager Sherri Murray wrote him in a letter. Breitenbach, who served as a gunner on an Army armored personnel carrier, said he doesn't think everyone has such a dirty mind that they would be offended.

Massachusetts Ex-Gov. Patrick to Run New Bain Unit (WSJ)
Mr. Patrick, a Democrat and ally of President Barack Obama, left the Massachusetts statehouse in January after serving two four-year terms. In joining Bain, Mr. Patrick is taking a job at a firm co-founded by Mitt Romney, the unsuccessful Republican presidential nominee who preceded Mr. Patrick in the Massachusetts governor’s office.

Ten Percent of S&P 500 Companies Avoid Paying U.S. Taxes (Bloomberg)
Fueled by a wave of inversions, a record 54 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of leading U.S. firms are now at least partially exempt from the corporate income tax. That’s more than twice the number four years ago.

HSBC Plans Board Shake-up (WSJ)
The search for fresh board members comes as the bank continues to wrestle with the fallout of a Swiss tax scandal and lackluster financial results. In February a cache of documents were leaked showing the Swiss private bank allegedly advised clients on avoiding paying taxes.

Detroit, Stockton bankruptcies may flag wider problems: Fed's Dudley (Reuters)
"While these particular bankruptcy filings have captured a considerable amount of attention, and rightly so, they may foreshadow more widespread problems than what might be implied by current bond ratings," New York Fed President William Dudley said at a workshop on Chapter 9 bankruptcies.

21 dog couples tie the knot in Beijing wedding ceremony (UPI)
A cavalcade of canines dressed in their formal finest gathered in Beijing for an event billed as the city's first-ever 'collective pet wedding.' The Sunday event, presided over by Shi Kangning, secretary-general of the Committee of Wedding Service Industries, featured 21 dog couples -- many clad in canine-size dresses and tuxedos -- trotting down the aisle to receive their marriage licenses. Several of the happy couples and their owners arrived at the ceremony in lavish vehicles, including a BMW convertible and a stretch Hummer limousine. "I have attended many weddings before, but this is the first time I've ever been to such a large-scale collective pet wedding. Looking at these lovely pets getting married and listening to their stories, I was really moved," said a pet owner and wedding guest identified as Ms. Li.