Briefs

In the largest settlement over soured mortgage securities, Bank of America agreed to pay $8.5 billion to settle claims by a prominent group of investors that includes Pimco and BlackRock. The agreement covers 530 mortgage trusts originally valued at $424 billion. Investors alleged that Countrywide Financial, which Bank of America bought in 2008, misrepresented the quality of the underlying mortgages that it bundled into securities to sell on Wall Street. They also claimed the bank mishandled the paperwork when home-owners fell behind on payments. The bank projects a second-quarter loss from $8.6 billion to $9.1 billion in part because of the settlement, which still requires court approval.

The Los Angeles Dodgers filed for bankruptcy on June 27 to seek protection from creditors should it not make payroll and other bills. The move came after Major League Baseball rejected the team’s deal to sell TV rights to Fox Sports, saying it is not in the Dodgers’ long-term interest. The team has since secured an interim loan to cover expenses.