Bullish Blog

AP - JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay $75 million in fines and forfeit $647 million in fees to settle federal regulators’ charges that it made unlawful payments to friends of public officials to win municipal bond business in Jefferson County, Ala.

Reuters - A federal judge rejected a request by Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp, to dismiss a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing him of securities fraud and insider trading.

AP - Investment adviser Value Line Inc., its CEO and its former compliance chief have agreed to pay about $45 million to settle regulators’ allegations the firm charged more than $24 million in bogus commissions on mutual fund trades.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rallied but lost steam

AP - JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to a settlement worth more than $700 million over federal regulators’ charges that it made unlawful payments to friends of public officials to win municipal bond business in Jefferson County, Ala.

AFP - London shares ended higher on Wednesday as the stock market posted strong gains on positive US data.

Reuters - Canada took a step on Wednesday to scrapping a controversial gun registry, though rules will still remain much tougher than in the United States. The House of Commons approved in principle a bill that would eliminate a decade-old registry of long guns such as hunting rifles and shotguns.

AP - A late-day slump left stocks mixed Wednesday as investors couldn’t hold on to their optimism after the Federal Reserve gave an encouraging assessment of the economy.

AP - European stock markets recovered Wednesday, helped by upbeat earnings reports across the region ahead of the latest economic update from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

These mutual funds, screened for year-to-date performance and low fees, are walloping the S&P 500. But be careful about joining them in midstream.