Stock Market Headlines: Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) stated on November 24th that it has lent and invested more than $1 billion to over 120 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in 37 U.S. states. These institutions include credit unions, investment funds and niche banks that focus on low-income and disadvantaged communities. The CDFIs primarily focus on small and micro businesses, charter schools, childcare centers, primary health care facilities, projects on Native American lands, and arranging pre-acquisition and development loans for low-income housing. Bank of America’s lending and investment with CDFIs is part of its 10-year, $1.5 trillion community-development lending and investment goal. This is the largest ever established by a U.S. financial institution. -Benzinga

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), maker of the iPhone and iPod musical device, sued a California company it claims is selling knock-off power adapters for the MacBook laptop computer over the Internet. Media Solutions Holdings LLC, a closely held company based in Anaheim, California, owns the Web site businesses Laptops for Less and eReplacements. Media Solutions is selling adapters that emulate the patented design owned by Apple, the electronics company said in a complaint filed Nov. 23 in federal court in Santa Ana, California. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, seeks a court order to block the sales of the adapters, and cash compensation. Portable Macintosh computers generated $8.67 billion in sales last year for Apple, about a quarter of the company’s revenue. Laptops for Less did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. An eReplacements official said that he wasn’t aware of the lawsuit. -Bloomberg

Water looks likely to become one of this century’s scarce commodities. Without massive investment in more efficient water use and making seawater drinkable, there won’t be enough to go round. Global water requirements could rise 53% to 6,900 billion cubic meters over the next two decades, 40% above current accessible, reliable supplies, according to research by McKinsey. That ought to offer the prospect of rich returns for investors. Yet so far "blue gold" has failed to live up to billing. -The Wall Street Journal

Global stock markets, overreacting to Dubai’s debt woes, could mark down stocks too much. Dubai, which is famous for building a palm-shaped island, the world’s tallest building, an indoor ski slope, and paying Rihanna $500,000 to perform at a New Year’s Eve party, wants a six-month reprieve from repaying a $3.5 billion bond. Why would this be an overreaction? The cost of writing off Dubai’s debt is a tiny fraction of the write-offs from the financial crisis that took $30 trillion off world stock markets in 2008. Even if Dubai defaults on every penny of its $80 billion in debt, the write-offs that banks will take would be 2.86% of the total write-offs, or $2.8 trillion, banks will take in the wake of the financial crisis between 2007 and 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund. -AOL Money & Finance