What you need to know today

$JPMorgan(JPM.US)$ , $Wells Fargo & Co(WFC.US)$ and $Citigroup(C.US)$ reported earnings Friday. All three big U.S. banks handily beat profit and revenue expectations. JPMorgan’s numbers were the most impressive, with profit surging 52% in the first quarter.
JPMorgan might have done spectacularly, but the U.S. economy is still on unstable footing, warned Jamie Dimon, the bank’s CEO. “People need to be prepared for the potential of higher rates for longer,” Dimon said, which might lead to “additional bank failures.”
In contrast to Dimon’s prediction, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Federal Reserve might not need to raise interest rates further because of tighter lending by banks. However, rate cuts weren’t mentioned, so high — though not higher — interest rates might indeed stay.
U.S. markets fell Friday as weak retail sales overshadowed banks’ stellar earnings. Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed Monday. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1.21% on the back of two pieces of good news: The country’s economy is expected to expand 4% in the first quarter, and its home prices grew the fastest, month over month, in almost two years. $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF(SPY.US)$ $Invesco QQQ Trust(QQQ.US)$