Neither the companies’ silence nor naysayers have dampened speculation that emerged last week about an alliance or merger between Bank of America and Countrywide Financial Corp. Share prices for Countrywide’s stock continued to rise today, advancing more than 4 percent in early trading to levels close to a 52-week high reached when the news first broke late last week. Neither Bank of America nor Countrywide officials have commented on the rumors, which were reported in the Financial Times on Friday and picked up by several other news groups. The Financial Times report was attributed to “people close to the matter.” Meanwhile, at least one investment house, Sandler O’Neill, has raised doubts that the reports are valid. The investment banking firm in a note to clients said it believes it more likely that BoA is considering outsourcing its mortgage processing to Countrywide. Countrywide runs a large and growing business in mortgage loan processing. Shares in the company were trading at $43.64 per share in the early afternoon on Monday.