Countrywide sale still a go

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis told an investor conference today that the purchase is moving along and won't require any more capital (a stock sale last week raised almost $13 billion). Countrywide reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $422 million (well over analyst estimates), so there are bound to be questions about the health of the $4.3-billion deal. That's $7.16 per share – Countrywide is trading today at $6.35. "The items driving the loss were consistent with our due diligence and transaction price," Lewis said. He also said there has been "dramatic" improvement in the fundamentals of the mortgage business. So there. (Guardian)