 Shares of Bank of America Corp. rallied 2.3% toward a sixth straight gain in morning trading Wednesday, after the bank beat third-quarter earnings expectations and provided an upbeat outlook on the U.S. economy. That would match the 6-day win streak ending Jan. 18. Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said on the post-earnings conference call with analysts that despite repeated discussions around a potential recession and concerns over the impact of the U.S.-China trade war, the bank's activities suggests the U.S. economy is in "solid shape" and the consumer continues to benefit by strong employment prospects." Moynihan said he should know, since BofA's annual customer outgoing payments of nearly $3 trillion represents about 15% of the U.S. economy. He said consumer payments are up 6% year to date from the same period a year ago. In addition, Moynihan said commercial loans grew 6%, including 6% growth in the small-business segment. "These are tangible examples that the U.S. economy is in solid shape despite the worries about trade wars, capital investment slowdowns and other global macro conditions," Moynihan said, according to a FactSet transcript. Moynihan did say, however, the bank managed to generate operations savings despite a lower interest rate environment and "other revenue challenges with a slowing economy." The stock has gained 6.6% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has advanced 4.7%.
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