nbc's kevin tibbles is with us from fargo tonight. kevin, good evening. >> reporter: brian, it's become a rite of spring, albeit an unwelcome one, as folks in fargo are once again bracing for the red river to overflow its banks. they simply call it sandbag central. >> this is a part of life in fargo. >> reporter: here every spring hundreds of school kids and volunteers spend countless back-breaking hours. >> you have fun making the sandbags because you can talk to your friends. >> to help out the community is good. >> reporter: this contraption is the spider. it doubles and redoubles the number of sandbags that can be filled. this year's goal, one million. they've got to work fast. while winter has stuck around, a lot of snow and ice has to melt. fargo fully expects to endure another year of high water on the red river. many worry it could rival 2009's record of almost 41 feet that cost the city some $50 million in damages. >> the water is coming faster, higher and obviously more frequent now we have had including this year four and f

wells fargo is the snufflufgus. certainly, wells fargo, although they've been stepping back somewhat, is the whale in the room. >> what did you think of retail sales? >> let me just stay on wells fargo for a moment, because we have tim sloan coming up in a few minutes, the ceo of wells. what was the most striking part of that report, then, dan, that was your takeaway in terms of wells fargo in this mortgage reboot that we're seeing? >> the biggest problem for the mortgage market in general is that you pretty much run the course on refinancings. originations have been a problem for some time, for the sector as a whole. i mean, listen, i'm not going to front run tim sloan here. for only the second time ever, i'm probably going to agree with rick santelli on air, and say that haigher interest rates fro that standpoint is probably not the worst idea in the world. >> hey, rick, let me just take it off our shores for a moment. you've been doing a lot of reporting and discussing of japan and the jgbs this week and the fall

next is marked with wells fargo. >> hello, i work for wells fargo bank. i cover the northern california region. i usually focus on about $350 -- $350,000 of sbe loans. last year, for 2010, i did 43 loans. so we are lending. i usually focus on six different types of loans. start-ups, business acquisitions, real estate purchases with ti's, working capital, a partner buyouts, business expansion. when i am looking at a potential loan, i use the standard five c's of credit. the first one is character. what we are looking for is a minimum score around 640. we would like to say no recent bankruptcy foreclosures, bankruptcies, tax liens. if we see a loan that has been modified, we would like to see a reason it was modified, what ever reason it may be. it cannot be, i did not want to pay that payment any more. the second c, conditions. basically, how precise will the money be used? we are looking at a business plan. when you look at a business plan, that is just a start up. we are looking to see where there will be the need for lending. if you are an existing busi

that was 19 of the 20 questions on the wells fargo call was about it. if you think in the bigger picture. rising home prices and we are seeing a strong market this spring. are a good thing for banks. credit quality is better ant the en of the darks higher home prices mean people will borrow more money. >> bank stocks have been rallying since december. is this the end of the roally? >> i think home prices are a good backdrop for it. but the ten year bond yield has come down, that is tough for the banks inity short-term. over the next year, we think there will be background because of the home prices. >> any disclosure? you own any of them? >> no. i don't. >> we will leave it there. thank you for coming on. rector of research. >> thank you. >> well, besides the disappointing bank reports, discouraging news about the consumer also weighed on the markets today. retail sales fell in march. and an index of consumer confidence from if university of michigan showed a sharp drop in april. here is how the weekended on wall street. the dow down at much as 74 point

even fargo has 7 inches and it's still snowing right now in fargo. fargo we're going to deal with, everyone wants to know what's next. here's the forecast. european computer model. white three to six inches, pink, 6-12. cheyenne, wyoming, 8 to 16 inches of snow. possibly nebraska, minneapolis again. in the end of this period it looks like the northern plains. east coast we're okay today. lots of clouds. few showers in the carolinas. compared to what the northern plains is dealing with now, it is going to get in the days ahead, i feel bad. >> double whammy. thank you, bill. >>> straight ahead, general motors teams up with ford. also the trial of a doctor. and a bus driver completely loses his cool when a serious passenger asks him questions. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ engine sputters ] [ dennis ] allstate wants everyone to be protected on the road. whether you're an allstate customer or not. all you have to do is call. [ female announcer ] call and sign up for good hands roadside assistance today. [ dennis ] are you in good hands? for go

what do you see in the charts for wells fargo? > > wells fargo is sitting right at a 52 week high and it's really make or break time for them. all eyes are gonna be on them but personally i expect good things. > > it's the first big bank to report in. you say good things. but how good? > > this is a bank that recently raised their dividend. they said that they're going to repurchase more shares in 2013. they really have been conservative. they've got good growth, good mamagement. they've executed well 11 straight quarters. so, how good? i don't know. there is some concern about the mortgage origination because they are the biggest lender in the united states and they've seen some slow down there. but i think this is a bank that's firing on all cylinders. add in a healthy dividend yield and you're gonna see support for this stock. > >with such a big rally in the stock market overall, could a blooper coming from earnings such as jp morgan or wells fargo cause stocks to drift lower? > > absolutely it could and that's one of the big r

wells fargo is a little higher.bout 35% for new home purchase hes, but you want to see that is going to continue. as the refinancing wanes, there will be enough new purchases to sustain growth. hopefully, the u.s. housing market will be on enough of a recovery that we'll see new purchases. but that boom asset wane webs it's going hit these banks. >> what do you think, gerard? >> i agree with that. what we're going to see is the refinancing activity is certainly going to slow down this quarter. third and fourth quarters last year were remarkably strong, particularly when it comes to the gain on the sale of mortgages. not only do they originate mortgages for their portfolio, but they also sell them into the monetary market. the federal reserve has lord rates with their pure chases of over $40 billion, $50 billion every month. so the gains there have been remarkably strong and those are coming in now. so the new purchase activity is accelerating. it's not going to be enough to upset the slowdown in the refinancing acti

lincoln and wells fargo chevron visa and bon appear teeth and of course, [spelling?] at&t and to the foundation and we thank all of you. here's to union bank and hosts man and of course, to a t and t to our san francisco giants you are the only team for me now let's -- our great hero, david and john caste too. jock robber shell vickier braive show and callahan here's to you and we raise your glass and toes all of the -- [inaudible] there is such excitement blooming and i'll share it all with you 20 scene our new hospital will make it's grande beauty and we will continue to offer -- and we will stand strong and take a strand we believe in giving everyone a -- we say we building this -- san francisco has in store .... a new dawn a new day ... (applause) is. >> thank you seaner and beach blanket babylon. ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the heros and hearts awards. our first award will be presented by tracy. president of san francisco market, wells far go to assist with the presentation of the awards please welcome louisa house worth. san francisco foundation boa

wells fargo's earnings at the top of the hour.en the dodgers and the padres last night. it is going to cost the dodgers one of their top line starting pitchers. >> ouch! that hurt. >> grenke hit carlos quintin. greinke fractured hesitate collarbone during the brawl. wow. this off-season he signed a six-year $147 million contract to join the dodgers. ouch. "squawk box" will be right back. carfirmation. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the spef hertz. >>> futures tkho u7b points so far this morning. it's time -- oh. time for becky to find out what sector sps regions are a good bet. >> that's right. we will do just that. our next segment is what's working right now. joining us is regional chief investment officer at wells fargo. you have some real sectors working for you. we have been talking with steven roach about the consumer and the problem

jpmorgan chase and wells fargo, they are down fairly half of a percent, wells fargo down almost a full is questions about going forward, how will they maintain this kind of revenues because we are watching the mortgage industry that they both generate funds from its declining somewhat especially at wells fargo. jpmorgan first, the earnings came in at $1.41 per share, revenue 25.85 billion. just slightly miffed with the street was expecting. jpmorgan seeing it fall 12%. corporate and investment profits down 2%. jamie dimon talks about he apologized for the problem. next month's shareholders meeting again up to the board to decide whether he would split the role of chairman and ceo. shareholders have been calling for that for well over two years now. look at what happened with wells fargo. 13% of the revenue comes from mortgages. if you are thinking this is a good bet or not, they said we don't like bank stocks, they pay dividends that helps guid stock buyback programs but this is not a growth industry. liz: record profits in some of these cases and yet they continue to complain about ho

and so many iconic projects in both northeastern and fortunately and southern california and wells fargo such an integral institution and part of of the fabric of our society and vaginal foalgee president the bay area region together encompassing this whole wide region for wells far going and we are soon going to hear from tim quinn written economist from wells far go and going to get some insight from him and a major focus and this says so much about the strength of our economy and the economy is small business lending and really promising news and 2012 wells far go expended scene billion dollars in that now loan commitments to small businesses across the united states over 30% in 2011 and that is great news so thank you wells fargo and many thanks to our partners in associations who always help us in promote things event it takes a villages to market deimagine. >> joseph markenson, md: and new president and c o oavment bob electric sway and president and c o e dennis callahan and executive director dave metcalf, e c a karen inc.,el and inner city advisers jose conia and typely going to

the nnhb wells fargo index slid to a reading of 42 down from 44 last month. the index also fell below economists expectations. builders say they're worried about getting hold of construction loans and rising costs for materials. but our next guest is slugging off today's down beat report. he says the housing recovery remains robust. here to tell us why, jed, chief economist at trulia. this is a real estate with website. so, we are getting mixed reports. some places, home prices are up. a lot of demand, other markets, just the opposite. is this a regional housing recovery? >> we're seeing the recovery strongest in two types of markets. marks that have strong job growth like san francisco, seattle, denver. but we're also seeing strong price increases in places that were hit hard in the housing bust. places that saw big price declines line phoenix, vegas and detroit. >> i was in los angeles over the weekend and the lead story of the los angeles on sunday was a bubble market where there are options happening once again for homes being sold there, mainly because o

wells fargo sold his home at foreclosure action. the first day he heard of it was the first day of the sale. he couldn't stop it. wells fargo sold his only in 2012 and they evicted larry on december 15, 2012 leaving his brother, -- his disabled brother still in the home with a tenant. a second case is the case of [inaudible] who is mixed race disabled senior in the bay view and mostly bedridden and ill with emphysema and asthma. she's in litigation with the bank of america who sold her home in 2011. this morning i talked to her. she wasn't able to come because of her disability. she said she wanted to die in or own home. with current senior housing timelines she told me she feels like she would be dead before getting a placement and she is scared of being homeless. in another case a fellow named henry terminally ill gay man with aids complications living in the sunset. he's trying to get wells fargo to delay his eviction so again he can die in his own home. the financial strain and displacement and services and medical services and

we contacted wells fargo. the bank looked into this case and just two days later a fed yechl delivery arrived at her door. >> jumping for joi.. >> it contained this check for $6900. wells fargo said koit not discuss the case because of privacy rules however, the bank tells us if a customer makes payments to a closed card we issue a refund by check mailed to the address we have on file f a customer set up automatic payments we'd recommend they cancel recurring payments prior to payoff. >> and i never thought my lifetime boy have to use michael finney. but he came through. tt is what we're here said she had too many transactions going on. now she's consolidate add kts and keeps notes and by the way that is a good idea for everyone. >> it is. it's good advice, thank you. >> spencer is off, jand patel is here. >> weather looks fabulous, tomorrow ate niece game giants hosting padres, forecast looking good. mid-50s and here is a look at the accu-weather forecast. clouds returning to the coast over the weekend. we'll

jpmorgan versus wells fargo. should you bank on ahead of the big earnings reports tomorrow? less than four hours to trade these names. let's debate it. stephanie link says jpmorgan, simon baker says wells fargo. 30 on the clock. >> this isn't really a play on the quarter, this is a play on being best in breed company. its average has been about two times over the last decade. the stock is down 3.5% since the middle of march. so it's underperformed. i like that risk reward headed in to the quarter. it has a diversified business mix. investment banking. core banking. mortgages. all kinds of credit card exposure. so i think if the economy recovers, it has the best shot of actually moving higher and you have a ceo that's determined to cut costs and grow profitability. >> talking about the ceo, most people those wells fargo because they don't make mistakes. you don't see them in front of congress. very conservative congress. they're coming up no international exposure. i mention it has a 2.6 dividend in the stock. thi

wells fargo and j.p. morgan. both stocks are lower following earnings and we have becky to pretend it's the boyfriend shirt. >> in case brent muss berger is watching, that's all she's got. just that jacket. make sure you join us on monday. "squawk on the street" is next. >> and good friday morning. welcome to "squawk on the street." i'm scott walker and jim cramer live from the new york stock exchange. carl quintanilla is on assignment this morning. we do have breaking news we want to begin with. it has been reported that jc penney has hired blackstone for $1 million. blackstone is talking to banks to make a $500 million or greater five-year term loan to jc penney secured by inventory. blackstone is talking to three private equity firms who expressed interest in making an investment in the company. given where the stock price is currently trading it's unlikely that the company would look to raise equity now. it's my understanding that the time to raise equity would be later in the year once jc penney has time to

still snowing hard in fargo with seven inches on the ground. the white shows where you it's snowing. a ball of snow from bismarck to fargo up to grand forks and i imagine a lot of kids will have a day off of school in that area. the snow is coming to an end in areas from duluth northward. that is that area of snow. that will slowly end during the day today. if you watched end of the masters yesterday, that rain there in augusta is now up through central portions of virginia. light rain for you coastal areas of carolinas from south carolina into north carolina. so a little bit of bad weather out there today. in general, we're still slowly heading in the right direction. 88 in dallas more like it. that's your national forecast. here's a look at the weather outside your window. >>> washington can't complain. 66 degrees. clouds and showers early in the day to the south of d.c. the afternoon should clear out nicely. slight chance of a storm there in indianapolis. atlanta, looking better today. unfortunately there's another winter storm behind the on

it's nothing new along the red river in fargo, north dakota, and this year is no different. more rain is expected and the river is still raising. the national weather service says it's expected to crest in fargo at about 19 feet above flood stage early wednesday. terrell brown reports. >> reporter: the city of fargo has built a wall of sandbags along jim lapine's home. more than 130 bracing for floodwaters. >> i've lived on the river for 40 year, and this will be the fifth time we've put sandbags in 40 years. >> reporter: the city endured the worst ever flood in 2009. there's been a major flood ever since. in north dakota that melting snow is turning into rushing water. those living along the mouse river in logan had little warning. >> between the hours of 1:00 and 2:00, there were six inches going in my basement windows over here, and it's nonstop. >> reporter: it's also been a spring of record rainfall that's caused flooding in ten states including tennessee over the weekend. in fargo, jim lapine's farm has become part of a flood zone and the city wants him to move. >> 50

(applause) . >> thank you tim and thank you wells fargo bank for providing tim and now, we are going to invite our mayors to the stage and we are going to be able to hear about their requirement prierts and outlook and envision and is each mayor will get some time on the podium and then other manage editor will be leading a k q and a with them and if there are questions that you would like to ask him hold your hands up and either now or during the presentation and we will get to as many as we can and since fraction is the host city, mayor lee is gracious enough to allow mayor khan to go first please welcome dan angle who's president of golden gate university to introduce mayor khan (applause) >>> good morning. i noticed that governor rick pairy was mentioned articlier and i think i may send him a question and tell him why i came here ten year ago and there is some good news in recent california he picked out the top three firms he was after and called a joint meeting of the legislature and he did pretty well till he got to the third one he could not remember who it is of golden gate