What was that about stable earnings?

One analyst is convinced that Bank of America's stock price performance is overdone, and benefits from sleight of hand. In a series of reports published since August last year, David Hendler, financial-services analyst at independent research firm CreditSights, has drawn attention to Bank of America's earnings from derivatives transactions. "We think the key driver of performance has been the company's over-reliance on interest-rate bets that previously went awry and of late have come in the money." Such activity is, he says, a volatile source of earnings. It would also seem to belie Bank of America's executives' table-pounding about the need for consistent earnings and less volatility.