The last time I recommended a bank to anybody was last August. And it was a Canadian Bank – Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS). Once upon a time – not that long ago – banks were solid, safe investments that generated a steady stream of income through the dividends they issued.

G. Kennedy Thompson, formerly Wachovia Corp.’s (WB) chief executive officer, can now be added to the list of high-profile subprime casualties that already includes Citigroup Inc.’s (C) Charles O. “Chuck” Prince III, The Bear Stearns Companies Inc.’s (BSC) Chief Executive Officer James E. “Jimmy” Cayne, and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.’s (MER) E. Stanley “Stan” O’Neal.

Citigroup Inc.’s (C) highly anticipated first-quarter earnings missed analyst’s expectations, as the largest U.S. bank posted its second straight loss and announced it will cut 9,000 jobs this year.

PMorgan & Chase Co. (JPM) reported profit of $2.37 billion (or 68 cents a share), more than a 50% drop from $4.79 billion (or $1.34 a share) from a year earlier.

Wholesale Prices Soar; U.S. Bancorp Sees Earnings Slide; Johnson & Johnson Enjoys 40% Jump in Profit; China Buys 1% of BP for $1.7 Billion; Brazil’s Retail Sales Hit Four-Year Record; Crocs Stock Drops; Intel Profit Down; Big Loss for WaMu.

Call me paranoid, but when the bullets are flying and the bodies are falling, I’m inclined to worry that I might be next. As for the big banks, investment and otherwise, Bear Stearns is not in anyway shape or form the last man to hit the ground.

How does the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline sound to you? Undoubtedly, it doesn’t sound all that great. But what if I said that gasoline prices were headed for the $4 a gallon level, but once they got there, they’d head no higher?

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U.S. markets dropped on a disappointing initial round of first-quarter earnings.