from Evan Newmark at the Wall Street Journal:
And now, we have the miraculous profits of Wells Fargo. For believers, it’s a harbinger of better times to come. And for the non-believers, it’s a creative accounting exercise in which the cup is not just half full, it’s brimming over.
Certainly, there is no getting around the odd timing of the Wells Fargo announcement.
For over a year, America has been mired in crisis. House prices are in free fall and defaults are on the rise. Jobs are disappearing by the millions. In early March, Wells Fargo cut its dividend by 85%. Its goal was to conserve cash.
But barely a month later, and Wells Fargo is announcing “business momentum is strong.” The Wachovia acquisition has “proven to be everything we thought it would be.” And the bank has earned $3 billion in quarterly profits, its best showing in 157 years.
