Something different happened Friday – so different that it took my breath away. The first Friday of earnings season has recently been such a jumble of tension that we had forgotten what it's like to have multiple big quarters reported in the morning. But that was exactly what we got. BlackRock reported early, and it was solid per usual. We had CEO Larry Fink on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street.
We might have that confounded asset cap gone soon. It was imposed by the Fed in 2018 for misdeeds that predated the current leadership. The company didn't say what it would do if the cap were lifted. I can't blame them. Why court the regulators? But there is no doubt that Wells Fargo at 11 times forward earnings now seems a little silly given that the background is so positive. Why can't it be at 14 times earnings? Why not? The Fed's got its back.