• JP Morgan scooped the Fed and announced it received regulatory approval for a 20% dividend increase yesterday. 15 of the 19 major banks subjected to the tests passed. Banks were supposed to wait until after the Fed released results of the stress tests two days ahead of schedule at 4:30PM. JP Morgan’s move sparked a big rally in financial stocks, but irritated other banks and Fed officials. The bank’s announcement was supposedly the result of a mix up in communications between JPM and regulators. From Bloomberg News.
• Rick Santorum demonstrated that he is the favorite of Republican conservatives by narrowly winning Alabama and Mississippi last night. The math doesn’t work for him gaining the nomination, however. Mitt Romney finished the night with an estimated 480-234 edge in delegates. 1144 are needed to win the nomination. From Reuters News.
• Citigroup was among the 4 banks that failed to pass the Fed stress tests yesterday. Suntrust, Ally, and Met Life were the others. Citi proposed a capital plan that was rejected by the Fed. CEO Vikram Pandit is locked in a battle to resurrect Citi’s balance sheet after taking massive government support. From Bloomberg News.
• The International Energy Agency warned of supply problems in various oil producing countries. These problems are occurring as Iranian exports could be cut dramatically by mid year. Saudi Arabia has said that they will boost production from their current levels which are at 30 year highs, if necessary. From the Wall Street Journal.