H&R Block Inc. on Thursday said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 5 percent, as revenue declined and a series of unusual charges weighed down results.

The nation's largest tax preparation company said it earned $658.6 million, or $2.15 per share, in the quarter ended April 30. That compared with net income of $690.8 million, or $2.11 per share, in the year-earlier period.

The number of outstanding shares dropped 6 percent from last year, which helped lift per-share earnings for the recent quarter.

The results were affected by several charges, including costs equal to 6 cents per share related to the legal fight over the loss of its refund-anticipation loan program at the end of 2010 and severance costs for departed employees.

Revenue slipped one half percent to $2.33 billion from $2.34 billion last year. Revenue in its tax services division edged down in the quarter. Business services revenue -- its RSM McGladrey consulting unit -- fell 6 percent.

Analysts on average expected adjusted profit of $2.14 per share on revenue of $2.32 billion, according to data provided by FactSet.

Block prepared 21.4 million tax returns this year, up 6.5 percent from 2010. Growth came in both its retail stores, which added 500,000 customers, and through its digital products, which added 800,000 customers, with online do-it-yourself preparation leaping 29 percent. That was a significant gain, because Block's digital products lag rival Intuit's TurboTax.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay $153.6 million to settle civil fraud charges that it misled buyers of complex mortgage investments just as the housing market was collapsing.

J.P. Morgan Securities, a division of the powerful Wall Street bank, failed to inform investors that a hedge fund helped select the investment portfolio and then bet that it would fail, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Among the investors who lost money on the deal were autoworkers for General Motors, a Lutheran financial organization in Minneapolis, and a retirement services company in Topeka, Kan.

The settlement announced Tuesday is one of the most significant legal actions targeting Wall Street's role in the 2008 financial crisis. It comes a year after Goldman Sachs & Co. paid $550 million to settle similar charges.

Still, the settlement amounts to less than 1 percent of the bank's 2010 net income of $17.4 billion -- which is less than what JP Morgan earns in one week.

In its announcement, the SEC said it had also charged Edward Steffelin with misleading investors. Steffelin headed the team at GSCP, an investment firm that was supposed to have been selecting the portfolio of mortgage securities in the $1.1 billion deal.

The SEC alleged that Steffelin knew that hedge fund Magnetar Capital was directly involved in choosing the securities and that he was seeking a job with Magnetar at the time. Steffelin has not reached a settlement with regulators.

Clothing company Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. said Tuesday it agreed to license the Izod brand to Ram Pacific Pte Ltd. to distribute Izod clothes and accessories in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Financial terms were undisclosed. The initial terms of the license agreement runs through December 2015.

The new Izod line includes men's, boys,' women's, and girls' apparel and accessories and will be sold in department stores.

PVH shares rose 79 cents to $64.20 during afternoon trading.

Wisconsin Treasurer Kurt Schuller has drafted a bill that would eliminate his position and the office of the secretary of state.

The resolution would amend the state constitution to cut both offices by 2015, Schuller said Wednesday. Schuller, a Republican, promised during his campaign that he would only serve one term if elected and would work to get rid of the treasurer's office, which has little power.

If either the treasurer or secretary of state's office is eliminated, the elected officer's seat on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands would be filled by the lieutenant governor. If both offices are cut, the superintendent of public instruction would fill the remaining seat.

Schuller said Republican Rep. Scott Krug of Wisconsin Rapids will introduce the bill in the Assembly. If the Legislature approves the measure in two consecutive sessions, voters could provide final approval through separate statewide referendums. Voters could eliminate one or both offices. Legislators would have to reapportion any duties not designated by the constitution.

Schuller's proposal also would make the attorney general third in the line of gubernatorial succession.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker has proposed all but gutting the two offices in the upcoming 2011-13 budget. Under Walker's budget, the treasurer would only retain control over unclaimed property. The secretary of state's notary public and trademark duties would be transferred to the Department of Financial Institutions.