$美国银行(BAC)$ Bank of America (BAC) shares are up almost 4% to $8.92 in late afternoon       trading after a federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of a racial       bias lawsuit against the company at the former Merrill Lynch & Co, which       is now owned by BAC.

     The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago rejected a challenge to       a retention bonus program that Merrill had adopted to keep brokers from       defecting after it was acquired by BAC in 2009. The court found that       payouts were based on "race-neutral" assessments of prior performance.       It also said there was no evidence to show that Merrill paid black       brokers lower bonuses than white brokers with an intent to discriminate.       However, the appeals court said the plaintiffs could try to recover       losses over bonus payouts in a separate case.

     BAC is trading within a day's range of $8.56 - $8.97 and a 52-week range       of $4.92 - $10.10.