Briefs, October 18, 2012

Bank of America's net profit falls 95pc

Bank of America, the second-largest US lender, said third-quarter profit dropped 95 per cent on litigation expenses and an accounting charge tied to the firm's debt. The firm has approved US$28 billion for settlements of legal and regulatory claims tied to takeovers of Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch. Last month, it agreed to pay US$2.4 billion to investors who said management hid Merrill losses before the 2009 deal. Net income fell to US$340 million, but analysts were predicting a loss, and the shares rose in early trading. Bloomberg

Unicom unit to issue 23b yuan of paper

China Unicom (Hong Kong) said its wholly owned subsidiary China United Network Communications will issue its second tranche of commercial paper for the year, amounting to 15 billion yuan (HK$18.6 billion), on October 23. The third tranche, 8 billion yuan, will be issued the next day. Sophie Yu

Cargo traffic at HACTL up 2.1pc in quarter

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals said its cargo traffic rose 2.1 per cent in the third quarter from the same period a year ago. The firm handled 697,791 tonnes of cargo in the period. Exports decreased 2.3 per cent, while imports and transshipments rose 3.9 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively, from a year earlier. Reuters