Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) reported excellent earnings last night, as I expected. The chip-maker beat on revenues and earnings per share. The stock is up close to 3% in the early going. That's because Intel's results weren't exactly a surprise. During its mid-quarter update, Intel said the quarter was looking good. And the stock ran from $19 to $20.50 over the last few days. And as of press time it's at $21.00.

Intel's earnings are especially important because the company beat revenue expectations. As we know, investors want to see revenue growth. Costs have been cut, and if the economy is truly turning around, sales should grow.

*****JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) destroyed expectations, posting $0.82 in per share earnings when analysts were expecting $0.52. Investment banking was the biggest contributor to JP Morgan's result. But I'm impressed by the gains the company made in bond trading. Revenues for fixed income went form $800 million last year to $5 billion this year.

Banks have to find new ways to make money, and JP Morgan is doing it...

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