First-quarter results came in today for Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, and while these are substantially different institutions, one constant between the two was the dramatic fall in mortgage lending.
On Friday's Investor Beat, host Chris Hill and Motley Fool analyst James Early discuss these two big banks, and how heavily dependent each one is on the mortgage lending business. James notes that, while both of these banks have had a dramatic run-up since the crisis, he's still wary of the sector, in general, which he still sees as fragile enough to backslide at any time.
Then, after a big spike on the market on Wednesday following the Fed releasing meeting minutes, Thursday saw the worst day for the Nasdaq since 2011. Was this just a blip, or the beginning of a painful decline? Chris and James take a look at some of the high-flying tech stocks that make up the Nasdaq today. James notes that, with the rapid growth of these stocks, there's still plenty of room left for them to pull back, and the volatile ride may not be over yet for this sector. The guys also discuss why now would be a great time for investors go to back and look at the reason they invested in these stocks in the first place, to see if they still believe in their investing thesis, and to decide if they have the stomach for volatility here.
And finally, James discusses why he's going to be keeping an eye on Petrobras Argentina this week. James discusses why a number of unusual restrictions placed on the company by the current Brazilian government that have hurt the profitability of the company could potentially be lifted, as Brazil moves toward a potential change in its government.
