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A highly popular tranche of municipal debt issues is likely to feel the sting of a multi-notch ratings downgrade soon, a Wells Fargo credit strategist warned. The downgrade would wreak havoc on the portfolio strategy of a substantial number of investors in tax-exempt debt, and would also likely have noisy political repercussions in Puerto Rico, the municipality whose bonds are in the crosshairs.

U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit a new record low for the third straight week as concerns over the euro zone weighed on the economy, mortgage financier Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Investors who want Facebook shares when the social network goes public may have lost the opportunity. Some brokers have stopped accepting orders.

U.S. builders began work on more homes than expected in April, government figures showed on Wednesday. But the data suggested that builders might also be slowing their future construction plans.

Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. single-family home market rose to a five-year high in May as buyer traffic increased and sales improved, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Tuesday.

Since hitting 52-week lows last October, U.S. financial-sector stocks have staged a strong comeback -- rising some 34 percent. Despite this uptick, they still look like bargains, at first blush.

Where to watch The Players Championship.

Demonstrators are expected to swarm Bank of America Corp's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday to voice anger over a range of issues from foreclosures to corporate taxes to financing for the coal industry.

Yolanda Quesada has been fired from her customer service position at Wells Fargo for a shoplifting crime she committed 40 years ago.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), the No. 2 computer maker, said it agreed to acquire privately held Tealeaf Technology, a specialist customer analytics software.

French bank BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR) reported Friday 9.6 percent rise in profits in the first quarter from a year ago, boosted by the sale of more than half of its stake in real estate firm Klepierre.

Thousands of agitated protestors took to the streets banging drums, waving flags and placards on May Day, popularly known as Labor Day, all over the world on Tuesday.

The Devils look to even up their series with the Flyers tonight at one game apiece.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) annouced Friday the acquisition of prime broker Merlin Securities LLC for an undisclosed amount. The move is the bank's first move into prime brokerage services, which provides clients such as hedge fund managers to records-handling and trade-clearing services.

There are men in the Philadelphia area dressing as Muslim women, carrying out bank robberies and a homicide and an Islamic group wants it to stop. The members of Majlis Ash Shura have taken a proactive approach to crime solving and have offered a $20,000 reward for information that lead to the suspects' arrest and conviction.

Shares of Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), the No. 3 U.S. telecommunications company, jumped as much as 7 percent after the company reported a lower-than-expected first-quarter loss.

Police in riot gear arrested two dozen people on Tuesday as protesters with a huge inflated rat sought to disrupt a Wells Fargo & Co annual shareholder meeting to express anger over foreclosures, executive compensation and corporate taxes.

U.S. medical device reviewers said HeartWare International Inc's blood pump seemed to help people with severe heart failure but raised concerns about device-associated clotting rates and stroke.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is expected to report highly disappointing financial results Thursday morning, a development that -- as has been the case in the past -- will provide plenty of schadenfreude to the company's vociferous and numerous critics.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), the exalted New York house of finance that is a veritable icon of white-shoe Wall Street firms, is expected to report first-quarter financial results Thursday somewhat weaker than a year-ago, a consensus of bank analysts has noted, as the firm is unlikely to have benefited as much as peers from positive developments that lifted large-cap U.S. banks during the first quarter.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the world's largest wealth manager, is seeking a buyer for its wealth management operations outside the U.S., Reuters said Tuesday.

The bears were on the prowl Friday, as negative economic news out of China, Spain, and the U.S. left global investors struggling to find safe places for their cash -- and the positive developments that did surface appeared to have little effect.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) beat first quarter earnings expectations Friday with the help of rising mortgage revenue, but the weak housing market could drag down future gains for the two big banks.

A surge in mortgage banking income lifted Wells Fargo & Co's first-quarter profit by 13 percent, but its shares fell on concern that the bank is falling behind on its drive to cut expenses.

Stocks fell Friday on disappointing Chinese economic data and renewed concerns over Spain's rising borrowing costs.

Stock index futures fell on Friday as concerns over Spain's rising borrowing costs resurfaced and after disappointing Chinese growth data, and banks fell after quarterly results.

Wells Fargo & Co., the fourth-largest U.S. commercial bank, said Friday strong mortgage activity during the first quarter offset higher expenses to produce higher-than-expected revenue and profit.

Stock index futures fell on Friday as concerns over Spain's rising borrowing costs resurfaced and after disappointing Chinese growth data, and banks fell after quarterly results.

Stock index futures fell on Friday as concerns over Spain's rising borrowing costs resurfaced and after disappointing Chinese growth data, and banks fell after quarterly results.