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Stock in the largest American banks were particularly bullish on the developments, trading up in heavy volume during pre-market action in the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) were up more than 2 percent in very early pre-market trading. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), whose operations are generally considered to be more sensitive to developments out of Europe than its large bank peers in the U.S., was up over 3 percent.

Walnut Place, a group of undisclosed investors who oppose Bank of America Corp's $8.5 billion mortgage bond settlement, is the Baupost Group, a distressed debt fund, according to an attorney for the bank.

As the country continues to grapple with the devastating aftermath of the housing market's collapse, acts of civil disobedience centering on foreclosures and evictions represent a powerful tactic for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Fewer Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. Thursday's data once again edged back from the 400,000 mark -- the level below which economists say signals a strengthening job market - after popping above it in the prior week.

Asia's economic growth looks set to stumble over the next few months, prompting a flurry of interest rate cuts and a spike in stimulus spending that may ultimately pave the way for a strong recovery in the second half of 2012. The catch-phrase for 2012 is the Asia yo-yo.

The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is a program specially developed for home owners whose houses have lost value in the last few years and have not managed to get a refinance mortgage.

It turns out that credit unions did not benefit so much from fed-up customers of big banks. The Credit Union National Association said in early November that their survey showed an estimated 650,000 Americans have opened new accounts at credit unions since Sept. 29, the day Bank of America (BAC) announced the $5 debit card fee that it later cancelled due to mounting pressure. However, a newly released regular monthly report shows quite a difference scenario.

U.S. equities rallied in the last hour of trading Wednesday, before retreating in the last few minutes, as rumors that a $600 billion International Monetary Fund Bailout of the European sovereigns was about to be announced swirled the market, only to be dispelled just before trading closed for the day.

According to reports, the man known as the Geezer Bandit, responsible and wanted for robbing close to 20 banks throughout California, left some vital clues in his most recent robbery of a bank that could lead authorities to his capture.

The BCS bowl game schedule has been released and led to what will likely be weeks of arguments about the national championship game rematch and other apparent mishaps.

Citigroup Inc. (C) Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said the bank will eliminate 4,500 jobs "over the next few quarters" in an effort to reduce costs, The Associated Press reported.

Bank of America agreed on Tuesday to pay $315 million to settle claims involving mortgage securities issued by Merrill Lynch.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) shares continued rallying today, the fifth day the stock seems poised to close higher, as trading was boosted by a widely-anticipated speech from its CEO. The wider market for large financial companies was mixed.

Occupy Homes, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, will protest in foreclosed and vacant properties in around 25 U.S. cities on Tuesday's Day of Action, promoting what organizers call the basic human right of housing.

A strange and winding day for the shares of major U.S. financial companies ended as oddly as it began, as shares of major U.S. banks seemed to brush off bad news on sovereign debt ratings that rattled the wider market and shares of five of the biggest financial institutions traded on the New York Stock Exchange ended the session on a sell imbalance.

Facebook, the social-networking giant that is preparing to go public, said it plans to hire thousands of employees over the next year to keep up with what it expects to be rapid growth.

Facebook, the social networking giant that is preparing to go public, said it plans to hire thousands of employees over the next year to keep up with what it expects to be rapid growth.

Bank of America Corp has issued nearly all the shares authorized by its shareholders, and if the bank needed to sell new stock, it would likely have to seek permission from its investors.

In the wake of a lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts attorney general, GMAC Mortgage, a subsidiary of Ally Financial, said on Friday that it would stop buying mortgage loans in the state after Dec. 5.

As banks around the world race to satisfy international capital requirements, they are going through a veritable fire sale, getting rid of non-core businesses no matter how much they will fetch. Beyond that, they are engaging in some odd transactions, including a substantial amount of balance sheet engineering.

Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan will have his work cut out for him next week when he speaks at an investor conference in New York, despite a recent uptick in his bank's stock price.

It seemed like it was only yesterday (perhaps because it actually was only three days ago, on Tuesday), when the shares of the banking giant teetered precariously above the $5 mark, a few cents off the dreaded "4 handle." Many were predicting a catastrophic sell-off. Fast-forward to today and Bank of America is trading at $5.74 per share, a jump of 13.66 percent in slightly over 60 hours.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley hit five banks with a lawsuit over foreclosure practices in the midst of multistate settlement negotiations.

Officials from major New York property owners said 2011 office leasing activity was strong, despite broader economic concerns, in a panel at the Goldman Sachs Commercial Real Estate Symposium in Lower Manhattan on Thursday.

From the time when a statement by Massachusetts' attorney-general announcing a lawsuit against five major banks began appearing on the newswires, shares of the financial institutions being sued actually went up slightly.

Suit targets nation's largest lenders

Getco LLC, an electronic market maker and high-frequency trading specialist, on Wednesday said it agreed to buy Bank of America Corp's floor-trading operations at the New York Stock Exchange, significantly expanding its market-making operations.

NEW YORK, Nov 30 - Facebook games developer Zynga Inc is seeking a lower-than-expected $10 billion valuation for its initial public offering, which is to be priced on December 15, two people close to the process said on Wednesday.

Zynga is expected to price its shares on December 15 in one of the most highly anticipated IPOs of the year.