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Buffett Gives Bank Of America $5 Billion Boost

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

NPR's business news starts with a big boost for Bank of America.

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MONTAGNE: Warren Buffett has just given the country's largest bank a $5 billion vote of confidence. Bank of America's share price had been sliding in recent weeks. Investors were worried about its finances and whether it had enough capital to meet global standards.

The CEO said it did, but investors were not reassured until Buffett came to the rescue with his wallet. Three years ago he helped another bank in crisis when he put $5 billion into the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs.

Today, Buffett announced that his conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, is investing $5 billion in Bank of America and will receive 50,000 shares of preferred stock. Bank of America's shares are up about 12 percent. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.