Schwab reported its net income fell to $119 million, or 10 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, down from $164 million, or 14 cents per share, a year ago.

Without the settlement charges disclosed last week, the San Francisco–based company said its profit rose 33 percent, to $218 million.

Revenue rose 14 percent to $1.13 billion from $986 million a year ago.

Total client assets rose 11 percent to $1.57 trillion. Schwab ended the year with nearly 8 million clients, up 4 percent from a year ago.

However, Schwab's pre–tax profit margin slipped to 20.3 percent from 27 percent in the year–ago quarter.

Excluding the charges, Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger said the company's pre–tax profit margin rose 9 percentage points compared with this year's first quarter. He attributed the improvement to revenue growth and cost controls.

The company reported a 12 percent increase in asset management and administration fees to $497 million in the latest quarter, compared with the same quarter a year ago. The gain was partly due to higher interest revenue.

Shares of MGIC Investment Corp. tumbled more than 20 percent Wednesday after the private-mortgage insurer posted a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and said it can't predict when it will become profitable again.

The Milwaukee-based company reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss than it did a year earlier: $186.7 million, or 93 cents per share, compared with $280.1 million, or $2.25 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Still, the latest quarter's loss was wider than the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet, who expected a loss of 57 cents, on average.

Shares of MGIC dropped $2.39 to close at $9.26. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $5.78 to $13.80.

For the full year, MGIC reported a loss of $363.7 million, or $2.06 per share, compared with a loss of $1.32 billion, or $10.65 per share, in 2009.

The earnings news release included a warning that the company doesn't see a return to profitability anytime soon: "We have reported net losses for the last four years, expect to continue to report annual net losses, and cannot assure you when we will return to profitability," the company said.

Shares of regional banks advanced Friday after improving credit trends lifted quarterly results across the industry.

The positive news stemmed in part from improving credit trends, as SunTrust Banks Inc., Fifth Third Bancorp, Huntington Bancshares Inc. all reported easing loan losses.

In afternoon trading, SunTrust shares were up $1.61, or nearly 6 percent, at $29.48. Fifth Third stock gained 27 cents, or nearly 2 percent, at $14.49. Huntington shares rose 18 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $7.03.

On Friday, SunTrust easily beat Wall Street expectations with its second-consecutive quarterly profit. The Atlanta-based bank reported stronger interest and noninterest income, along with a steep drop in the money it set aside for loan losses.

Huntington Bancshares also said earlier this week that it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter as souring loans continued to decline. The bank based in Columbus, Ohio, said its results included a one-time charge of 7 cents a share for the deemed dividend resulting from Huntington's previously announced repayment of federal government aid during the financial crisis.

U.S. Magistrate Bruce Guyton recommended denying the class action status sought by attorneys for some of the 457 plaintiffs spread among about 50 current lawsuits, and for any others waiting to sue.

Since the Dec. 22, 2008, spill of 5.4 million cubic yards of toxin-laden sludge in the Emory River and on privately held land beside TVA's' Kingston Plant, the utility has negotiated buyouts of more than 170 properties and is continuing a cleanup that is projected to cost $1.2 billion.

"A class action is not superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating these cases," Guyton said in his recommendation.

"The diversity of claims in these cases and the danger of plaintiffs being excluded from asserting their individual claims for personal injury, medical monitoring, or other claims undermine the adequacy of representation" in a class action, the magistrate's recommendation said.

Schlumberger's fourth-quarter net income jumped 31 percent, the company reported Friday, as demand for oilfield services surged around the world along with the price of energy.

Oil prices have moved consistently higher since last summer. A barrel of oil now costs more than $90.

The energy industry, after slumping during the recession, is aggressively bumping up production to meet demand and major oil producers need companies Schlumberger to manage drill sites across the globe.

The company's shares have been climbing since last summer as well, and before the market opened Friday, the stock rose nearly 2 percent to $86.80.

Schlumberger has had to grow with major producers and last year spent $11 billion to acquire Smith International Inc.

It was the time that Smith's operations were reflected over an entire quarter and during the past three months, the company contributed revenue of $2.49 billion and pretax operating income of $275 million.

Schlumberger Ltd., based in Houston, earned $1.04 billion, or 76 cents per share, for the final three months of the year. That compares with $795 million, or 65 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 58 percent at $9.07 billion.