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Earnings season is underway for Wall Street firms, and it's as gloomy as expected.
Banks so far haven't missed earnings expectations, but profits and revenues are down significantly across the board.
Bank of America on Thursday reported earnings per share of $0.21 on revenue of $19.51 billion — that's down from earnings per share of $0.36 on revenue of $21.4 billion in the same quarter last year. Trading revenue was down 16% and investment banking revenue dropped 22%.
Wells Fargo reported diluted earnings per share of $0.99 on revenue of $22.2 billion, versus EPS of $1.04 on revenue of $21.3 billion a year ago.
Wells also said its oil and gas portfolio was under "significant stress" owing to the decline in oil prices and the deteriorated financial condition of its borrowers.
Banks' mediocre performance is especially notable because the first quarter is typically the strongest for Wall Street. But choppy trading conditions in early 2016, fears over China's growth, and a collapsed oil price have created a "perfect storm" for banks. More on that here.
BlackRock also reported a disappointing first quarter on Thursday. It announced earnings per share of $3.92, down from $4.84 in the year-ago quarter.
Here are the top Wall Street headlines at midday:
This deal could finally reawaken the IPO market: Here's what you need to know— Bats Global Markets, a stock-exchange operator giving the NYSE and Nasdaq a run for their money, is set to go public on Friday.
Home prices in San Francisco just fell for the first time in 4 years — According to real-estate company Redfin, house prices fell 1.8% year-on-year in March, the first such drop in four years. 
JAMIE DIMON: The US consumer is A-OK — Dimon said consumers are looking strong — and that that's a good sign for the US economy.
The oil crash is really helping Delta — Delta Air Lines reported first-quarter profits that topped estimates on Thursday.
Jamie Dimon says Americans only have 1 problem area when it comes to debt— JPMorgan's CEO says the American consumer is looking great these days, except for in one key area: student debt.
Morgan Stanley's feeling really good about these 10 stocks — A team of Morgan Stanley analysts singled out ten bright spots that they think are about to see some good news.