• Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) reported estimate-topping results of 84 cents a share, three cents above Zacks estimates of 81 cents, on revenues of $98.67 billion, slightly below estimates of $99.50 billion. Comparable sales eased 0.4% from last year. The firm raised fourth quarter and full-year guidance to a range of $1.08-$1.12 for the quarter and $3.57-$3.61 for the year

• Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) reported results of 63 cents a share, above Zacks estimates of 61 cents, on revenues of $4.1 billion, above Zacks projections of $4 billion

• Banking analyst Richard Bove strongly advised purchase of Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) shares, saying the firm's multiple should be twice current levels due to growth prospects

• Motorola (NYSE:MOT) is considering sale of its Home and Networks Mobility division as part of its turnaround plan. Analysts value the unit at $3-$5 billion

• Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) said it agreed to acquire 3Com (NASDAQ:COMS) for $7.90 per share,

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With buyers back in action, US stocks rose to their fresh one-year highs and remained near their high points as optimism grew that an economic recovery, helped by solid third-quarter earnings reports and increased M&A activity, is on cards. 

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 96.28 points, or 0.96%, to close at 10,092.19.  The broader S&P 500 index jumped 10.23 points, or 0.94%, to 1,097.91 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 19.52 points, or 0.91%, to 2,176.32, its highest point since September 26, 2008.  Market breadth was positive, with advancing shares ahead of decliners by a margin of three-to-one.  Only five of the DJIA thirty declined in price.

After the close, iPhone maker Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) reported better-than-estimated numbers, fuelling hopes for the technology industry.  Last week Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Intel Corp’s (NASDAQ:INTC) numbers had come in above expectations.

Although there were some jitters last

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Today we are featuring top-performing “Chinese equity" mutual funds that invest most of their assets in equity securities of companies that trade in China or are related to the Chinese economy.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Chinese Equity Funds list.

3 Excellent Picks

Dreyfus Greater China A (DPCAX) was incepted in May 1998 and seeks long-term capital appreciation. It may include invest in common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities, including those purchased in initial public offerings. It is non-diversified.

The fund primarily invests in stocks of companies that are principally traded in China, Honk Kong or Taiwan, derive at least 50% of their revenues from Greater China, or have at least 50% of their assets in Greater China.

Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Ltd., Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric Co. Ltd. and Bengang Steel Plates Co. Ltd. are

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Of all the coverage coming out of the recent judgment on the Bank of New York Mellon money laundering case, Fortune's coverage appears to be the most thorough so far, not to mention that it immediately won me over with its headline: "Russia settles suit against U.S. bank for a pittance".

So that we're all on the same page here, the $14 million settlement sum is exactly 0.0622 percent of the $22.5 billion Russia was seeking. NOT 6.22%, but slightly more than six hundredths of 1%.

Having said that, two passages from the Fortune article strike me. The first, on the amount itself:

Though federal prosecutors investigated the bank for complicity, they chose not to prosecute. Instead, in November 2005 the bank accepted "responsibility" for having failed

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Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov is quietly optimistic that 'a slow and cautious recovery is under way'.   Shuvalov has predicted that the economy could return to its pre-crisis state by 2012 and does not envisage circumstances necessitating the devaluation of the ruble in the near future.  Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has told reporters that Russia's GDP in the July-September period is expected to increase 1.5% against the previous quarter.  Is a new privatization program on the cards?  Reuters reports that Russia has apparently spent more than 50% of the $480 billion it had allocated for crisis fighting.  St Petersburg construction workers are apparently threatening Pikalyovo-style action unless Putin personally deals with the problem of wage arrears.  Who knows, they might even get a free watch.  The Washington Post reports that Russia has reached a settlement with ...

Today we are featuring top-performing “Chinese equity" mutual funds that invest most of their assets in equity securities of companies that trade in China or are related to the Chinese economy.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Chinese Equity Funds list.

3 Excellent Picks

Dreyfus Greater China A (DPCAX) was incepted in May 1998 and seeks long-term capital appreciation. It may include invest in common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities, including those purchased in initial public offerings. It is non-diversified.

The fund primarily invests in stocks of companies that are principally traded in China, Honk Kong or Taiwan, derive at least 50% of their revenues from Greater China, or have at least 50% of their assets in Greater China.

Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Ltd., Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric Co. Ltd. and Bengang Steel Plates Co. Ltd. are

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[Editor's Note: After more than a year of chaos and controversy, some of the leading U.S. banks saw their stock prices soar during the second quarter. As part of its mid-year forecast series, Money Morning examines the outlook for U.S. banks for the rest of this year. To see earlier stories from our mid-year forecast series, please click here.] By Martin Hutchinson Contributing Editor Money Morning

Can U.S. bank stocks continue their winning streak?

In February, I analyzed the top 12 U.S. banks to determine whether they really needed $1.5 trillion in taxpayer-provided bailout capital. I concluded that only a few of those banks seemed to be in any danger of collapse, and actually recommended several.

Policymakers and the market later came to agree with me: The Standard & Poor’s 500 Financial Index has more than doubled from its March low and several bank stocks have posted triple-digit …

Today we are featuring top-performing "Chinese equity" mutual funds that invest most of their assets in equity securities of companies that trade in China or are related to the Chinese economy.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Chinese Equity Funds list.

3 Excellent Choices

Dreyfus Greater China A (DPCAX) was incepted in May 1998 and seeks long-term capital appreciation. It may include invest in common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities, including those purchased in initial public offerings. It is non-diversified.

The fund primarily invests in stocks of companies that are principally traded in China, Honk Kong or Taiwan, derive at least 50% of their revenues from Greater China, or have at least 50% of their assets in Greater China.

Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Ltd., Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric Co. Ltd. and Bengang Steel Plates Co. Ltd. are

...

On July 15, U.S. Bancorp (USB) announced that it paid $139 million to buyback the stock warrants held by the U.S. Treasury Department. As part of the company’s participation in the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program, the 10-year warrants were issued in November 2008. U.S. Bancorp entitled the Treasury to purchase 32.7 million common shares at an exercise price of $30.29 per share.

Last Friday, State Street Corp. (STT) said that it paid $60 million to repurchase its own warrants. U.S. Bancorp and State Street are among the 10 major financial services companies to be permitted by the federal regulators last month to repay the bailout money.

In May this year, the Federal Reserve conducted a Stress Test and concluded that U.S. Bancorp did not need any additional capital buffer. The decision came after estimating the adequacy of the company’s capital base under a hypothetical two-year scenario, considering adverse economic

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On July 14, U.S. Bancorp (USB) announced that it has been awarded the "Best Bank in the U.S." by Euromoney magazine as part of its 2009 Awards for Excellence. U.S. Bancorp's healthy performance during the economic turbulence in 2008 was lauded by the publication. As a leading financial markets magazine, Euromoney has been picking out the top performers in finance since 1992.

In May of this year, the Federal Reserve concluded that U.S. Bancorp did not need any additional capital buffer. The decision came after estimating the adequacy of the company's capital base under a hypothetical two-year scenario that involved economic conditions more adverse than actually expected.

Besides U.S. Bancorp, the other banks not required by the Federal Reserve to raise capital included American Express (AXP), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), BB&T (BBT) and Goldman Sachs (GS). However, banks such as Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB),

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