Also

* Bank of America Corp. agreed to sell its Hong Kong-based retail operations for about $1.25 billion to China Construction Bank Corp., China’s third-largest bank.

* H&R; Block Inc. said it expected to take a charge of $61.3 million, or 19 cents a share, for losses related to rising delinquencies by “sub-prime” mortgage customers.

* EchoStar Communications Corp. agreed to offer films from Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. studio on a pay-per-view and on-demand basis.