Bank of America surprises with big Q1 profit, but news isn't all good

Bank of America (BAC) joined the parade of better-than-expected financial sector earnings this morning, posting a profit of $4.2 billion, or 44 cents a share, thanks largely to higher interest income and solid results from recently acquired Merrill Lynch.

Though the results beat analysts' projections -- they'd expected a 4-cents-a-share profit -- the news isn't all good: credit card losses rose and the company set aside more to cover bad mortgages. So will this be enough to take some of the heat off embattled CEO Ken Lewis?