Markets Finish Friday Mixed as President Obama Signs Tax Extension Bill (BAC, GM)

Stocks ended mixed to close the week despite optimism the economy is on the mend and President Obama officially signing the tax cut extension bill into law. Exchanges hovered around two year highs, but couldn’t pull together to break past the psychological levels investors would like to see. In corporate news, Bank of America (BAC) is being sued by the state of Arizona in yet another spat of mortgage servicing. Recent market darling General Motors (GM), less than a month of their new IPO, is recalling 100,000 crossover SUV’s over concerns the front seat belts do not stay buckled in the event of a crash.

Word on the Street

• Stocks can’t pass their two year highs as trading stays in narrow range.
• President Obama signs tax cut extensions into law, claiming it will “create jobs for the American people.”
• Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison believes his company is gaining steam on the vulnerable Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and IBM (IBM) after posting strong second quarter results.
• Feds secure $7.2 billion from Madoff trustee to help reimburse victims for their financial losses.
• General Motors (GM) is recalling over 100,000 SUV’s due to a front seatbelt malfunction.
• The state of Arizona is suing Bank of America (BAC) of mortgage servicing, adding to the mounting legal woes for the banking giant.
• Quest Visual released an Apple (AAPL) iPhone app that translates Spanish words to English with the use of the camera.
• Pharmaceutical titan Novartis (NVS) has acquired eye-treatment maker Alcon – how much will the company be rewarded for their purchase?

Interesting Tidbits

• As 2010 comes to a close, take a look back at the most groundbreaking inventions of the year that are here to stay.
• Think you’re destined to become a great entreprenur? Check out the one personality characteristic they all have in common.
• Last minute Christmas shopping? Today is free shipping day across the web!

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