Total B.S. as most of you have mentioned.
First red flag; they had to make an early announcement. Think about the reasons as to why that'd be.
Now that the FASB rules have been so relaxed to the point that there's literally no transparency as to the solvency of bank balance sheets, they get to play with valuations in a way that would make Enron smile in envy.
Unemployment keeps rising, default rates on homes and consumer credit lines keep rising, credit is contracting still, and this is a fantasy land the banks have been given free reign to romp around in.
No matter. Even with the old rules of the game thrown out, the truth will still filter through.
Don't fail to appreciate the irony of Wells Fargo announcing alleged 'blowout' earnings (while not having to mark assets to market) while jumbo loan losses rose to the highest level in history, and on the same day Walmart falls short of lowly analyst expectations on top line sales and revenue (their same store sales fell).
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aI0_OFz22Ycs&refer=home
We're going to end up with 11% unemployment, minimally, on a national basis soon, and the second wave of both residential and commercial property defaults have been building behind the 90 day moratorium banks so graciously agreed to when they came begging for TARP funds.
Now, Insurance Companies want in on TARP and FHA is giving ominous warnings that it may need an AIG-scale bailout.
When the truth on Wells Fargo comes out (that they've had a short term bounce in revenue due to refi activity, while not having to take the true amount of write downs due to laughable accounting rules), look for a sharp reversal, especially when WFC has to report that its assets are worth less than even the relaxed FASB rules allow it to report (or not report, more appropriately) at this point.