By Carleton English Bank earnings are coming, and once again, it’s about the outlook, not the earnings. Investors are hoping bank executives paint a rosy picture of the economy. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are all set to report this coming Friday, and investors will be waiting with bated breath for signs that 2024 will be better than 2023. Remember 2023? It was the year that saw rising Treasury yields hammer the valuation of the bonds banks owned, forcing First Republic Bancorp, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank into receivership. Still, the year looks to have ended on a high note. Falling Treasury yields helped to boost the value of bonds sitting on banks’ balance sheets and narrow their unrealized losses. This was especially true for Bank of America, which faced a hit of as much as $130 billion. With the threat diminishing, bank stocks rallied