Benzinga's Political Roundup (BAC, C, JPM, IRE)

U.S. securities regulators are discussing settlements with several major Wall Street banks such as Citigroup C, J.P. Morgan JPM and Bank of America BAC to settle allegations related to mortgage-bond deals. Moody's cut Ireland's sovereign rating by two notches to Baa3 today, and put the outlook at negative. This is affecting Irish banks such as Bank of Ireland IRE. China's economy grew faster than expected, coming in at 9.7% in the first quarter, which could lead to further monetary tightening. Congress approved a budget deal to avert a government shutdown, but the spending cuts were far lower than what was actually told to the public.