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An Iraqi police official says gunmen have attacked the house of a police officer near the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, killing one of his guards.

Kirkuk’s police commander Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir says the officer was unharmed in Saturday’s attack in the predominantly Sunni town of Hawija, a former insurgent stronghold located 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

Suspected Sunni insurgents have frequently targeted Iraqi security forces to undermine the confidence in the Shiite-dominated government and its efforts to protect people from violence without American backup payday loans in one hour.

Attacks have surged amid an escalating political crisis in Iraq. At least 160 people have been killed since the beginning of the year, raising fears of civil war a month after U.S. soldiers left.

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Bank of America is back to basics _ slimmed down, stripped of its swagger and no longer the biggest bank in the country. And investors, after pummeling the company for two years, finally like what they see.

The stock soared 4 percent Thursday after Bank of America reported that it made $2 billion from October through December, reversing a $1.2 billion loss from a year earlier. The stock is up 27 percent this year.

Almost none of the profit came from improvements in Bank of America’s basic businesses. In fact, it lost money in the fourth quarter in real estate and investment banking.

But the bank raised $2.9 billion by selling its stake in China Construction Bank and $2.4 billion more by selling debt and issuing common stock to replace its higher-cost preferred stock, which paid out annual dividends as high as 8 percent.

“We enter 2012 stronger and more efficient after two years of simplifying and streamlining our company,” CEO Brian Moynihan said.

The cash has strengthened Bank of America’s balance sheet, a key factor as it undergoes a Federal Reserve “stress test” and tries to meet international regulatory standards that demand banks hold more cash against risky loans.

“It would be a big step if Bank of America can prove to the Street it doesn’t need to raise additional capital,” said Shannon Stemm, a banking analyst Edward Jones, a financial advice company Edward Jones.

After the stock dropped 63 percent drop in 2010 and 2011, Bank of America is eager to start over. But it won’t be easy.

Paying $4 billion for Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation’s largest subprime mortgage lender, in 2008 seemed like a bargain but has cost Bank of America tens of billions in mortgage losses, fines and litigation.

“The biggest problem with Bank of America is that you never know what litigation expense lurks around the corner,” Stemm said.

The bank has also been forced to buy billions of dollars’ worth of mortgages from the government-sponsored mortgage financing companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In 2011, the bank lost about $14 billion just on legal settlements tied to mortgages issued in years past. On Thursday, the bank said it put aside an additional $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter for future litigation, most of it tied to mortgages.

In addition to the legal costs, the Federal Reserve last year refused to let Bank of America increase its stock dividend, citing uncertainty about the depth of its mortgage problems Faxless payday loans.

It was the only denial issued to any of the four largest U.S. banks by the Fed, which is closely monitoring how the largest banks use their cash since the bailouts of 2008.

This year, Bank of America hasn’t asked the Fed to raise its dividend.

As the U.S. economy slowly comes back, investors are betting Bank of America is poised to capture some of that growth. But that won’t be easy, either.

Loans to people and businesses aren’t as profitable as they were before the financial crisis. Not only are interest rates at historic lows, but regulators have limited the fees banks can collect for overdrafts and late credit card payments. The government has also reduced the fees banks can ollect from stores on debit-card transactions.

Bank of America knows something about debit card fees. Last fall, it caused a public uproar when it announced it would charge customers $5 a month to use debit cards. The bank quickly backed off.

Bank of America serves about half of American households, and its results showed that housing continues remains a concern in the economy. The bank’s real estate business lost $1.5 billion after a 74 percent decline in new home loans. The bank lost some market share and closed a division that helped third-party home lenders.

But Americans seemed to be getting their financial houses in order by paying off more debt on time.

Bank of America, one of the largest credit card issuers, said customers who paid bills a month late declined for the 11th consecutive quarter. New credit card accounts also grew 53 percent, and the division posted a profit of $1 billion.

Bank of America’s investment banking business reported a loss of $433 million due to lower investment banking fees and lower sales and trading driven by the rocky stock and bond markets in the last three months of the year.

The bank’s quarterly earnings came to 15 cents per share, which was less than the 22 cents expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet, a provider of financial data. The earnings were in line with other estimates.

The bank reported fourth quarter revenue rose 11 percent to $25.1 billion from last year. For the year, the bank made $1.4 billion. It lost $2.2 billion in 2010.

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China

Businesses increased their stockpiles in November to meet rising consumer demand, a gain that likely boosted economic growth in the final months of last year.

Inventories rose 0.3 percent in November, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That followed October’s 0.8 percent gain. Sales increased 0.3 percent after a 0.6 percent October increase.

Companies are building up their stockpiles again after cutting them over the summer amid fears of another recession. The increase is a positive sign for growth because it means many businesses are filling their shelves in anticipating of higher consumer spending.

Inventories rose in November to a seasonally adjusted $1.55 trillion. That was 17.7 percent above the low hit in the recession year of 2009.

This week, the Federal Reserve issued a report saying the final six weeks of 2011 were among the economy’s best last year. The report pointed to higher holiday and auto sales, along with increased travel.

The job market has brightened, too. Employers added 200,000 jobs in December. And the unemployment rate fell to 8 bad credit personal loan lenders.5 percent, the lowest in nearly three years.

Many analysts predict that economic growth rose to an annual rate of roughly 3 percent in the final three months of 2011. That would be an improvement from the summer, when the annual rate was just 1.8 percent. And it’s much better than the 0.9 percent growth rate in the first six months of 2011.

Many businesses reduced their inventory restocking in the summer after consumer spending slowed last spring in the face of higher food and gas prices. The slowdown, along with supply disruptions caused by March’s earthquake in Japan, weakened U.S. manufacturing and contributed to worries of another recession.

Stockpiles at the wholesale level account for about 27 percent of total business inventories. Stockpiles held by retailers make up about one-third of the total and manufacturing inventories represent about 41 percent of the total.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the Fed probably won

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport officials confirmed Wednesday that they are targeting an April reopening of the tornado-damaged C Concourse.

Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge told airport commissioners that restrooms in the concourse have been renovated and storm-damaged windows have been replaced.

Storm repairs are being made in concert with planned terminal renovations, which include new ceilings and lighting.

“We would like to do a behind-the-scenes public event before it opens,” Hamm-Niebruegge said. “We kind of wanted to do a big splash for the business community.”

The event would likely occur a couple of days before the renovations are complete.

An EF-4 tornado slammed into the airport on April 22, causing extensive damage to the C Concourse, which remains closed. Airlines that were housed in that part of Terminal 1 were temporarily moved to other gates not in use at the time guaranteed pay day loans.

The tornado also broke numerous windows on the main terminal building, which remained boarded up for months. The tornado also damaged cars that were parked on the top level of the Terminal 1 hourly parking garage.

The extensive damage caused the first prolonged closure at Lambert since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks grounded air travel across the United States.

After emergency repairs and cleanup, the airport reopened to limited commercial air traffic within 24 hours.

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Singapore

Consumer confidence rose more than expected in December, hitting an eight-month high, as Americans grew more upbeat about the labor market and their financial situation.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer sentiment increased to 64.5 from a downwardly revised 55.2 in November.

Economists had expected a reading of 58.3 from a previously reported 56.0 in November.

The rise in sentiment offered hope for a pick-up in consumer spending after a tepid performance in November.

Labor market conditions have improved in recent months, with the unemployment rate falling to a 2-1/2 year low in November and applications for first time jobless benefits at the lowest since April 2008.

The survey’s present situation index rose to 46.7 this month — the highest since September 2008 — from 38.3 in November. The expectations index surged to 76.4 from 66.4 in November.

“Consumers are more optimistic that business conditions, employment prospects and their financial situations will get better,” the Conference Board said in a statement.

“While consumers are ending the year in a somewhat more upbeat mood, it is too soon to tell if this is a rebound from earlier declines or a sustainable shift in attitudes.”

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Workers used white tarps Friday to cover the exterior signs of Shula’s 347 Grill, which abruptly closed last week at the Roberts Tower, the stylish but empty condo building in downtown St. Louis.

Taped to the front door was a sign that read, “We are closed to make exciting changes!”

How the street-level space will change could not be immediately determined, but Shula’s will not return. Robert Zarco, the lawyer for Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Shula Steak Houses, said Friday that the company pulled its St. Louis franchise, which he said was held by a firm controlled by businessmen brothers Mike and Steve Roberts.

Zarco said Shula’s main concern in St. Louis was that employees of the local restaurant were not getting paid.

“The tension was between the employees and the franchisee arising from the employees’ claiming they were not paid their wages and salaries,” he said. “In our view it impairs the brand and corporate good will of our company when employees are not paid.”

Efforts to reach Roberts company officials were unsuccessful.

Zarco said the Roberts company did not fight the loss of its Shula 347 Grill franchise. The restaurant, on the ground floor of the Roberts Tower, opened last spring.

About 30 Shula restaurants in a chain begun by retired Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula operate in more than a dozen states.

The sleek glass-and-concrete Roberts Tower, at 411 North 8th Street, is a Roberts development that has no residents two years past what had been its expected opening.

The 25-story tower adjoins the Roberts Mayfair Hotel, where some hourly workers have said they sometimes do not get paid on time.

Pending against another Roberts entity, Roberts Hospitality Services II, are liens for unpaid state sales and use taxes. The largest is for nearly $1.3 million. Nearly all of that amount is for what the lien document describes as “addition to tax” to the $25,412 in taxes owed for June 2011.

Ted Farnen, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Revenue, said Friday that the lien would be ’significantly” altered but would not say whether the amount would be revised up or down.

Also owed by Roberts Hospitality Services are payments to vendors. Among them is a $19,294 judgment obtained by Middendorf Meat Co. Its lawyer, Vincent D. Vogler, said Middendorf sued to collect for food sold to the Mayfair and what had been the Roberts’ Indigo Hotel on Lindell Boulevard. The Indigo is now operated as a Comfort Inn.

In October, yet another Roberts company

National home sales figures will be lowered dating back to 2007 after the private trade group that collects them said the numbers were too high.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday it will release the downward revisions for previously occupied homes on Dec. 21.

Among the reasons for the inflated figures, the Realtors group says: changes in the way the Census Bureau collects data, population shifts and some sales being counted twice. Last year’s total sales figure of 4.91 million was the worst in 13 years.

The Realtors consulted with several government and private housing market experts, including the Federal Reserve, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Home Builders, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and CoreLogic, the California-based data firm that first raised doubts about the annual numbers earlier this year.

CoreLogic estimated that the Realtors group overstated sales in 2010 by at least 15 percent.

The changing numbers could impact how economists view data from the trade group. It could also affect companies who use the figures for hiring and expansion plans.

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