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
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