Economic Update: Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), British Airways (LON:BAY), Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)

The Federal Reserve said yesterday that American’s net worth is on the rise.  Overall, households have gained 1.3% to a total of $54.2 trillion, a slight gain for the fourth quarter.  It appears that a recovering economy and rising stock market are behind the gain.  This is the third quarter in a row of positive growth in American’s net worth, and was smaller than the previous two growth periods.

Prosecutors in Italy are seeking to ban Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) division Merrill Lynch from pursuing lucrative government contracts with the Mediterranean nation.  This is based on derivative swap losses that the investment institution’s performed for Milan, Italy’s financial capital.  According to DOF Online, the losses stand in the neighborhood of $1.19 billion (870 million Euros) out of a total $2.28 billion (1.68 billion Euros) deal.  After the Goldman Sachs debacle in Greece, it would appear that governments in Europe are beginning to grow wary of large financial investment institutions like B.of.A.

British Airways (LON:BAY) union has announced it’s members will go on strike from March 20^th to 23^rd, and from March 27^th to March 31^st.  The union will not continue the strike over Easter.  The airline is already hampered by 60 million pounds of annual losses, and it appears that negotiations on how to reduce losses with the union have broken down.  According to the BBC, the sides are still “far apart” after months of negotiations.

For some positive news, seasonally adjusted retail sales rose in the month of February 0.3%, beating economists predictions.  Overall, sales have increased for the new year by 0.4% after January’s numbers were revised.  Sales now stand at approximately $355.5 billion, according to the Commerce Department.

President Obama appeared before the Export-Import Bank conference yesterday and said that he was interested in aggressively reducing the current American trade deficit.  According to the President, he’d like the US economy to double it’s exports within a five-year time period, and apparently wants to use an export-focused government programs to create jobs. “When other markets are growing, and other nations are competing, we’ve got to get even better. We need to secure our companies a level playing field. We need to guarantee American workers a fair shake. In other words, we need to up our game.”, Mr. Obama said.   It was announced yesterday that the US trade deficit has been unexpectedly decreasing this year, but it still has a long way to go before America is close to balanced

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) has seen some brisk trading early today after it was announced that their earnings per share for the first quarter were lower than originally expected.  Analysts were anticipating a report of $0.16 for the first quarter, but investors are instead looking at $0.10.  – Reuters

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) announced yesterday it’s first quarter earning information are scheduled to be announced on April 21^st, a Wednesday.  The press release will be available by clicking here.