Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), the largest U.S. home lender, reported a 24 percent rise in fourth-quarter earnings as the bank extended more credit. The shares slipped as margins narrowed and mortgage applications waned.

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. . . → Read More: Wells Fargo Profit Rises as Bank Boosts Lending

Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay $62.5 million to resolve investor claims that the bank’s directors mishandled the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., company officials said.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in New York today approved Bank of America’s offer to add $42.5 million to a $20 million settlement of shareholder lawsuits . . . → Read More: Bank of America Agrees to Settlement of Merrill Claims

U.S. Government Debt Grows $10 Million a Minute: David Walker Follow The Daily Ticker on Facebook! Total public debt — excluding student loan, mortgage and credit card debt — exceeds $15.9 trillion. And that number keeps rising. Lawmakers have intensified their calls for massive fiscal reform, citing ballooning debt loads and unsustainable government . . . → Read More: Stocks, Links and News

Olympic Winners: Do They Deserve Tax Breaks? Follow The Daily Ticker on Facebook! U.S. athletes have won a collective 90 medals at the 2012 London Games and that number will likely rise before the Olympics end on Sunday. Olympic winners will pay taxes to the IRS on their prize money but a new . . . → Read More: Stocks, Links and News

Housing Market’s ‘Go-Go Days’ Are a Thing of the Past: Austan Goolsbee Follow The Daily Ticker on Facebook! By David Chalian The sluggish economic recovery would certainly get a short-term boost if the housing market picked up a bit of steam, but any notion that a boom in housing alone will be the . . . → Read More: Stocks, Links and News