BANK OF AMERICA

Stocks were set to open little changed on Thursday as investors grappled with euro zone uncertainty, a raft of corporate earnings and softer-than-expected data on the domestic labor market.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after Spain sold all of its debt at an auction and ahead of a raft of corporate earnings and economic data.

Stocks were lower on Wednesday after uninspiring earnings from IBM and Intel, while Chesapeake Energy slumped after a Reuters report highlighted large and unusual personal loans taken by its chief executive.

On April 10th BioWare released the “Resurgence Pack” as a free downloadable content addition for “Mass Effect 3” players. However, speculation stirred when a paid version of the DLC was accidentally released to the public, leaving some fans confused.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is expected to report highly disappointing financial results Thursday morning, a development that -- as has been the case in the past -- will provide plenty of schadenfreude to the company's vociferous and numerous critics.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), the exalted New York house of finance that is a veritable icon of white-shoe Wall Street firms, is expected to report first-quarter financial results Thursday somewhat weaker than a year-ago, a consensus of bank analysts has noted, as the firm is unlikely to have benefited as much as peers from positive developments that lifted large-cap U.S. banks during the first quarter.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the world's largest wealth manager, is seeking a buyer for its wealth management operations outside the U.S., Reuters said Tuesday.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trade Tuesday are: Endocyte, Comerica, Canadian Solar, Sprint Nextel, Valero Energy, U.S. Bancorp, Bank of America , China Gerui Advanced Materials Group, KIT digital, Host Hotels and Resorts and Goldman Sachs Group.

Most of the Asian stock markets ended lower Tuesday after data showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) into China declined for the fifth month in a row.

Asian stock markets declined for the second day Tuesday despite better-than-expected US retail sales data as concerns over Europe's debt crisis continued to weigh.

Earnings season will kick into full gear next week with results due from major players. The stock market had an incredible first quarter with double-digit percentage gains, and the flood of company earnings reports will largely decide which way the market will be going from here.

Reports on retail sales and housing starts in March highlight the economic calendar next week, April 16-20. Economists will be watching for any lingering signs of a positive boost from the recent warm weather, as well as indications of whether the strength in consumer demand continues.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) beat first quarter earnings expectations Friday with the help of rising mortgage revenue, but the weak housing market could drag down future gains for the two big banks.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is expected to report a big jump in quarterly earnings and a small rise in revenue on increasing mortgage refinancing during the first three months of the year.

Manhattan's 2 World Financial Center was evacuated Thursday morning after workers who discovered what they believed to be a hand grenade contacted authorities -- it turned out to be a toy, police said.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.55 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.42 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.59 percent at 3:34 a.m. EDT (0734 GMT).

Bank of America Corp's chief information officer is leaving the company and will be replaced by a consumer banking executive, the bank said on Tuesday.

Two proxy advisory firms are backing a shareholder proposal to split the roles of chairman and chief executive at Wells Fargo & Co , putting pressure on another U.S. bank to revamp its leadership structure.

A small band of protesters gathered outside the home of Chevron CEO John Watson on Tuesday following a California report accusing the oil giant of not paying its fair share of taxes.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, bouncing back after five days of sharp losses that pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq below their key technical levels.

That Wall Street expects J.P. Morgan to outperform its peers shouldn't come as a surprise. Besides being the biggest, it's arguably among the three or four most stable big banks.