Finance news. My opinion.

An attorney for Bank of America says 13.2 million customers may be eligible for a settlement in a lawsuit claiming the bank charged excessive overdraft fees.

The final tabulation came Monday as a Miami judge considers whether to finalize a $410 million settlement during a hearing to consider any objections or other issues related to the deal reached in May.

The class-action lawsuit contends the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank processed its debit card and check payments in a way that triggered more overdrafts and therefore more fees. Even though it agreed to the settlement, the bank insists the overdraft system was proper.

The lawsuit covers people with Bank of America debit cards between January 2001 and May 2011.

New bank regulations prohibit this type of debit card fee unless customers approve.

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Constellation Brands Inc. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit jumped 78 percent on improved wine and spirits sales in North America, a lower tax rate and a drop-off in charges after four years of cost-cutting.

Its stock rose more than 7 percent in afternoon trading.

The world’s No. 2 vintner raised its full-year guidance, acquired the rest of Italy’s Ruffino wines that it didn’t already own and said it had bought back $251 million worth of its own shares.

Constellation has been pruning methodically to solidify its supremacy in higher-margin wines priced from $5 to $20 a bottle and revive profits and revenue in a choppy economy.

Its brands range from Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois and Ravenswood wines to Svedka vodka and Black Velvet Canadian whiskey. Through a joint venture, it also imports moderately priced beers such as Corona Extra, Tsingtao and St. Pauli Girl.

“We continue to make significant progress in a number of areas despite the prospects of an unsettled consumer environment,” Chief Executive Rob Sands said in a conference call with analysts.

The June-to-August results exceeded Wall Street expectations, and its shares surged $1.46, or 7.8 percent, to $20.18 in afternoon trading. The stock is trading near the upper end of a 52-week range of $16.42 to $23.19.

Its net income climbed to $162.7 million, or 76 cents per share, in the three months ended Aug. 31 from $91.3 million, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier. Its effective tax rate dropped to 3 percent in the quarter, down from 35 percent a year earlier.

Revenue after deducting excise taxes fell 20 percent to $690.2 million from $862.8 million a year ago, largely because it sold 80 percent of its struggling Australian and British wine business in January.

Excluding $4 million in restructuring and other one-time items, Constellation earned 77 cents per share. Wall Street expected 65 cents per share, according to a survey by FactSet. A year ago, the company recorded $17 million in one-time charges.

Operating income in its beer business fell 4 percent on higher marketing costs despite a 7 percent rise in sales by its Crown Imports joint venture with Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo.

Its wine and spirits sales in North America rose 5 percent. After a sharp drop in wine sales in 2009, especially in bars and restaurants, industry volumes have rebounded this year as Americans take advantage of more discounts to trade up to higher-priced brands.

Constellation jumped into California’s coveted wine market by netting Franciscan in 1999, Turner Road and Ravenswood wineries in 2001 and Robert Mondavi Corp. in 2004. Its 21 acquisitions over 21 years ran through 2007 when it bought Fortune Brands’ U.S. wine business, maker of Wild Horse and Clos Du Bois. Then came the cost-cutting.

It divested Almaden, Inglenook and other low-priced wines that generally sell for less than $5 a bottle, paring its 300 brands to 100. It has slashed its debt to below $3 billion from $5.3 billion and shrunk its payroll to 4,300 from 9,400.

On Thursday, the Victor, N.Y.-based company raised its full-year guidance by 10 cents to a range of $1.92 to $2.02 per share. Analysts expected $1.97 per share.

It also said it had purchased the 50.1 percent it didn’t already own in Ruffino S.r.l. from MPF International S.r.l., which is controlled by the Folonari family of Tuscany, Italy. The price was about $69 million, the company said, and it also assumed about $73 million of debt.

This year, Constellation lost its eight-year status as the world’s No. 1 winemaker when it offloaded 80 percent of a once-promising Australian wine business that had gone awry.

It dropped back to No. 2 in the vintner-by-volume rankings behind longtime leader E. & J. Gallo of Modesto, Calif. But it remains the world’s biggest premium-category winemaker with an estimated 17 percent share of that segment in the United States, ahead of rivals that include Gallo, Treasury Wine Estates, Kendall-Jackson and Diageo.

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World stock markets took a beating on Monday after a report showed U.S. companies stopped hiring in August, reviving fears that the world’s largest economy is heading back into recession.

The lack of hiring in the U.S. last month surprised economists, who were expecting about 93,000 jobs to be added. Previously reported hiring figures for June and July were revised lower. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.1 percent _ it has been above 9 percent in all but two months since May 2009.

The jobs crisis has led President Barack Obama to schedule a major speech Thursday night to propose steps to stimulate hiring.

Traders waited for signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve might take action at its September meeting to support the economy _ perhaps a third round of bond purchases, dubbed quantitative easing III or QE3, analysts said.

“Right now the possibility has increased,” said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. “I think they have to do something. The markets are expecting QE3.”

Amid the uncertainty, traders pulled out of any risky investments _ such as stocks, particularly financial ones, the euro and emerging market currencies _ to pile into safe havens: U.S. Treasuries, the dollar, the Japanese yen and gold.

European shares slumped in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 2.9 percent to 5,136.36. Germany’s DAX fell 4.7 percent to 5,280.13, and France’s CAC-40 tumbled 4.6 percent to 3,003.64.

Markets in the U.S. were closed for the Labor Day holiday.

Banking stocks were among the hardest hit after the U.S. government on Friday sued 17 financial firms for selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac billions of dollars worth of mortgage-backed securities that turned toxic when the housing market collapsed.

Among those targeted by the lawsuits were Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Large European banks including The Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank and Credit Suisse were also sued.

Renewed jitters over the eurozone debt crisis also contributed to the slump in financial stocks amid concerns they would need to raise new capital. Deutsche bank was down 9.4 percent in Frankfurt while Societe Generale in Paris shed 9 percent.

An international debt inspectors’ review of Greece’s finances was interrupted on Friday amid disagreements over the country’s deficit figures. The review will be resumed in about 10 days and must be completed in order for the country to receive its bailout loans at the end of the month.

Signs that the Italian government’s commitment to its austerity program is wavering have also shaken investors. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government has backtracked on some deficit-cutting measures, prompting EU economic officials to urge it to stick to its promised plan.

The economic indicators, meanwhile, were mostly downbeat. Although retail sales in the eurozone rose unexpectedly in July, a survey of the services sector showed a slowdown across the continent for the fifth consecutive month.

The purchasing managers’ index for the eurozone showed the services sector was still growing _ unlike the manufacturing sector _ but only barely. That will add pressure on the European Central Bank to keep interest rates on hold when it meets this week.

“Indeed, the latest data and surveys suggest that the ECB’s eventual next move could actually be to trim interest rates, although it is likely to need sustained eurozone economic weakness and possibly even GDP contraction to get the ECB to perform a U-turn on interest rates,” said Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight.

In Asia, indexes closed sharply lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average sank 1.9 percent to close at 8,784.46, with sentiment also undermined by the persistent strength of the yen, which hurts exporters.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 2.4 percent to 4,141.9, and South Korea’s Kospi slid 4.4 percent to 1,785.83. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 3 percent to 19,616.4. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and the Philippines also were down.

Mainland Chinese investors worried about the economic outlook dumped shares, dragging Shanghai’s benchmark Composite Index down 2 percent to 2,478.74, its lowest close in 13 months. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 2.4 percent to 1,097.07.

Investors seeking a relatively stable store of value during times of economic turbulence in financial markets have been scooping up gold, sending its price up 50 percent over the past year.

In currencies, the euro weakened to $1.4078 from $1.4187 in New York late Friday. The dollar was roughly flat at 76.92 yen. Last month, the dollar fell under 76 yen, which was a new post-World War II high for the Japanese currency.

Benchmark oil for October delivery was down $1.85 to $84.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude fell $2.48 to settle at $86.45 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude for October delivery was down $1.66 at $110.67 on the ICE Futures exchange.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has a message for Congress: Do more to stimulate hiring and growth _ or risk delaying the economy’s return to full health.

Bernanke held out the prospect Friday that the Fed may take further steps later to help the economy. But he offered no new plans for now.

At a time when Congress has focused on shrinking budget deficits, Bernanke agreed that doing so is important for the long term. But he warned lawmakers not to “disregard the fragility of the current economic recovery.”

Investors had hoped Bernanke would use his much-anticipated speech at an economic conference in Jackson Hole to unveil some aggressive measure to jolt the economy.

He didn’t. But he did say the Fed’s September policy meeting will be extended to two days, instead of the scheduled one, to permit a “fuller discussion” of the central bank’s options.

“He appears to be saying that the Fed has largely played its part and that the politicians need to step up their game,” said Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

Investors seemed to take comfort from Bernanke’s view that the job market and the economy will return to full health in the long run and the notion that the Fed might provide more help in the future. After initial losses, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 134 points. Broader stock indexes also gained.

Bernanke’s speech came shortly after the government said the economy grew at a scant 1 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter _ even slower than previously estimated.

The economy is still hobbled by a depressed housing market, high oil prices and fears that the European debt crisis will deteriorate into a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. The Dow has lost about 11 percent of its value since late July on fears that the economy might slip back into recession.

On Friday, Bernanke blamed this summer’s political squabbling over raising the federal debt limit for undermining consumer and business confidence. And he warned that further gridlock in Washington would “pose ongoing risks to growth.”

The Fed chief noted that the depressed housing sector has delayed a full recovery in the broader economy. He said the home market should gradually return to health _ a process he said the government should support.

In his speech in Jackson Hole a year ago, Bernanke signaled that the Fed would begin a new round of Treasury bond purchases to try to lower long-term interest rates, spur spending and boost the stock market. His words ignited a 28 percent, eight-month rally in the Dow.

This time, Bernanke merely repeated that the Fed “has a range of tools that could be used to provide additional monetary stimulus fast cash without a hassle.”

The most powerful weapon the Fed has left would be a third round of bond purchases. Critics, from congressional Republicans to some Fed officials, have raised concerns that the Fed’s Treasury purchases could ignite inflation and speculative buying on Wall Street, while doing little to aid the economy.

Bernanke pushed back against that notion in his speech. He said that with oil and other commodity prices easing, he expects long-term inflation to remain low well into 2012.

Others have questioned whether any further lowering of long-term rates is needed. Investors seeking the safety of U.S. debt have forced down the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 2.19 percent _ a full point lower than it was when the Fed completed its Treasury purchases about two months ago. Yet the economy is still sputtering.

The Fed also could take more modest steps. It could eliminate interest payments on money that banks keep on deposit at the Fed, encouraging them to make loans instead. Or it could reshuffle its portfolio of investments, replacing shorter-term bonds with longer-term ones to help push down long-term interest rates.

Aneta Markowska, senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale, said the extension of the Fed’s September meeting to two days suggests the possibility that it could unveil a new program soon.

Roberto Perli, a former Fed official who is a managing director at International Strategy & Investment, said Bernanke and other Fed policymakers are waiting to see if the economy improves in the current July-September quarter.

John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo, suggested that Bernanke would have to overcome opposition within the Fed to take any further bold steps to lift the economy. Earlier this month, three of the 10 members on the Fed’s policy committee voted against Bernanke’s plan to keep short-term rates near zero through mid-2013.

Because of that rare level of dissent, Silvia doubts that Bernanke could muster support for a third round of Treasury purchases.

“When you’re dealing with three dissents,” he said, “it’s hard to have an aggressive policy.”

Many economists note, however, that the economy’s main problem is not that interest rates are too high. They say the main problem is that consumer spending remains too weak. So businesses feel little incentive to hire, expand and invest.

Until demand for goods and services steps up, the Fed has limited ability to strengthen the economy.

Joshua Shapiro, an economist at MFR Inc., said Bernanke was conceding that the Fed has “basically exhausted its tools.”

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Asian equity markets were sharply down early Tuesday as investors fearing a possible global economic slowdown continued to flee stocks.

Oil fell below $78 per barrel, toppling to its lowest price of the year on concerns that a slowing global economy could crimp demand for fuel.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunged 4.4 percent to 8,694.31 in the morning session, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plummeted 7.3 percent to 18,998.51. South Korea’s Kospi index plummeted 8.2 percent to 1,716.05.

Elsewhere, Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX-200 index lost 4.5 percent to 3,806.70. Taiwan’s TAIEX dropped 4.9 percent and New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index shed 3.8 percent.

Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at Sydney-based stockbroker CMC Markets, attributed the market turbulence to fears that the U.S. economy was slowing down.

“We’re clearly in fear territory,” McCarthy said. “The major driver here seems to be weakness in the U.S. economy. There are fears that it’s starting to stall and if that’s the case, the whole global growth scenario could fall over.”

Shane Oliver, chief economist of Australian investment manager AMP Capital, said he was surprised that the Australian market had not stabilized Tuesday after steep falls on the previous two trading days.

“I would have thought we would have factored in a lot of the weakness, but obviously the fall on Wall Street was greater than Australian investors and Asian investors expected this time yesterday,” Oliver told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.

The losses come on the heels of a rout on Wall Street on Monday, the first trading day since ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded American debt.

The Dow Jones industrials fell 634.76 points, the sixth-worst point decline for the Dow in the last 112 years and the worst drop since December 2008. Every stock in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined.

Worries about the U.S. economic recovery have been building since the government said that economic growth was far weaker in the first half of 2011 than economists expected. Intensifying concerns were reports showing that the manufacturing and services industries barely grew in July, although job growth was better than economists expected last month.

Investors are also worried that Italy and Spain could become the next European countries to have trouble repaying their debts. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have already received bailout loans because of Europe’s 21-month-old debt crisis.

The fears have pushed investors to shun Spanish and Italian bonds, which have led to higher yields and in even higher borrowing costs for the two countries.

The European Central Bank stepped in Monday and bought billions of euros worth of their bonds. The move helped to lower yields on Spanish and Italian bonds, at least temporarily.

In currencies, the dollar weakened to 77.26 yen from 77.70 yen late Monday in New York. The euro slipped to $1.4193 from $1.4196.

Benchmark crude fell $3.96 to $77.40 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That is the lowest settlement price of the year for crude, but it’s still higher than the $71.63 per barrel low of the past 12 months.

Oil hit that on Aug. 24 of last year, when a combination of disappointing economic news and abundant supplies drove down prices.

The contract settled at $81.31 per barrel on the Nymex on Monday.

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Truck maker Volvo AB’s second-quarter profit surged 63 percent as sales returned to levels last seen before the financial crisis, the Swedish company said Friday.

Net income rose to 5.12 billion kronor ($802 million), up from 3.15 billion kronor in the same quarter last year.

Volvo’s sales increased 15 percent to 79 billion kronor, from 68.8 billion kronor in the second quarter of 2010.

“Sales are now at the same level as before the financial crisis that struck the world a few years ago, with a profitability that is now at its highest level so far, both in terms of operating margin and return on shareholders’ equity,” CEO Leif Johansson said.

Volvo shares rose 4 percent to 106.40 kronor ($16.66) in Stockholm after the report.

The company, which sold its car division in 1999, is one of the world’s biggest truck makers, with brands including Volvo, Mack, Renault and UD trucks. The company also makes buses, engines and construction equipment.

Sales in Volvo’s truck unit alone rose 20 percent to 50 billion kronor, and the company said it now controls 20 percent of the heavy-duty truck market in the U.S. and 28 percent in Europe.

“In terms of market conditions, we maintain our previous forecasts that the truck market in both Europe and North America will amount to 230,000-240,000 heavy-duty trucks in 2011,” Volvo said.

Truck sales were up 31 percent in Europe, boosted by demand in France, Germany and Poland.

In North America, Volvo more than doubled its deliveries to 10,290 trucks. Highway customers are leading the recovery there, while demand for vocational trucks such as garbage trucks is still “well below” normal levels, Volvo said.

Truck deliveries dipped by 9 percent in Asia, as a result of production disturbances for UD Trucks in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami. The disruptions cost Volvo 400 million kronor in operating income, mostly affecting its unit for construction equipment.

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Karl Ritter can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/Karl(underscore)Ritter

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GULF SHORES, Ala online payday loan lenders.

Running the air conditioner or watching television is about to get a little more expensive. State utility regulators on Wednesday gave Ameren Missouri authority to raise electric rates in the coming weeks by 7 percent, or $172 million a year.

The increase means a typical residential customer who uses 1,100 kilowatt-hours a month will pay an extra $8 a month, on average, or $96 a year, according an analysis by the Public Service Commission staff. The increase likely will take effect in August

The Brookings Institution is taking its “business plan” elsewhere, at least for now.

The Washington thinktank has turned down a request from the East-West Gateway Council of Governments to help St. Louis develop a “business plan” for growing its economy. A memo sent today from East-West executive director Ed Hillhouse to his board said that Brookings had selected three other cities for the new program and decided it didn’t have enough resources for a fourth.

In his memo, Hillhouse wrote that Brookings “emphasized they are committed to working with St. Louis” and suggested they may be able to start here next spring. But, for now, they’re going elsewhere (Syracuse, NY, Louisville and Lexington, Ky., and a third location that hasn’t yet been announced - but which apparently won’t be St. Louis).

This seemingly-innocuous exercise in regional planning has been the subject of much internal strife in St. Louis economic development circles, as we reported this morning. While East-West’s application won the support of local elected officials and business groups like Civic Progress and the Regional Business Council, it faced indifference (and, some allege, behind-the-scenes opposition) from the Regional Chamber and Growth Association - which recently completed a major economic development plan of its own 100% free credit score.

That strife may have contributed to Brookings’ decision. In conversations with East-West staff, the thinktank laid out three reasons St. Louis didn’t make the cut, said agency spokesman D.J. Wilson.

Lack of business-sector participation and support Concern over a lack of involvement from Washington University Looking for more examples of regional economic development efforts

Since the dispute came to light earlier this week, everyone now says they’re on the same page, and want to bring Brookings to town to build on past studies. RCGA president Richard Fleming said late Thursday he generally supports the idea. And in his memo, Hillhouse wrote that “in this instance, conflict played a positive role in uniting our region.”

But will it work? Stay tuned.

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In the midst of its fight for survival, the owner of Saab Automobile on Monday announced plans to develop three new models together with a Chinese car company.

Swedish Automobile NV, previously known as Spyker Cars, said it aims to set up a joint venture with China’s Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. to design a small Saab model called 9-1, and two larger designs called 9-6 and 9-7.

Cash-strapped Saab has struggled to pay suppliers and staff, and production has been at a standstill for months. Last week, the company said it aims to resume production within two weeks, but workers remained idle Monday and will go on two weeks scheduled vacation July 25.

Saab spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs said the plans for the new models are at an early stage and it remains unclear when the cars could reach the market.

Youngman will provide financing for the joint venture while Saab will be responsible for developing the models.

“We will now be able to develop a small entry level Saab, a car that has long been on the top of our wish list,” Swedish Automobile CEO Victor Muller said in a statement.

Separately Monday, Saab said it has completed a previously announced euro245 million ($356 million) deal to make Youngman and another Chinese firm, Pang Da Automobile Trade Co, part-owners in Swedish Automobile. The deal still requires regulatory approval.

It said the agreement also allows for Russian investor Vladimir Antonov to become part-owner of Swedish Automobile, if he obtains the necessary regulatory approvals.

Antonov has said he wants to inject between $50 million and $150 million into Saab, but is still waiting for an approval from the European Investment Bank.

The Russian was forced out of Spyker amid reports of money laundering when Spyker bought Saab from General Motors in 2010. He has denied those allegations and has never been charged.

Shares in Swedish Automobile rose by 13.7 percent to euro2.85 ($4.14) on the Amsterdam stock exchange.

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