Client News Release
Charles Schwab says no to bailout program (AP) and Bulk of top Merrill brokers to join BoA (Reuters)
City of Industry, CA --(www.FinancialNewsUSA.com)-- 11/18/2008 - Banking industry news provided by Financial News USA (OTC: FNWU). SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Brokerage firm Charles Schwab Corp. said Friday it would not participate in the U.S. Treasury Department's bailout program.The deadline for applications from financial services companies seeking to participate in the $700 billion program is Friday. Schwab said it does not need government help to continue or improve operations.
"Our capital strength, ongoing operating discipline, and history of conservative fiscal management allow us to continue to maintain the strength, safety and soundness of our business without the need for government capital," said chairman Charles Schwab in a statement.Schwab holds more than $1.2 trillion in customer assets.Last month Schwab reported third-quarter earnings of $304 million, or 26 cents per share, down from $1.53 billion, or $1.28 per share, during the year-ago period, which included a hefty $1.21 billion gain on the sale of U.S. Trust.Shares of Schwab lost 67 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $17.22 in afternoon trading. [Read the full article]
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co (NYSE: MER) said on Friday that the majority of its best-performing financial advisors will join Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) when that bank buys Merrill at the end of the year.
More than 6,200 advisors accepted a retention package offered by Bank of America that was targeted at the top-producing brokers, a spokeswoman for Merrill said.Of the brokers bringing in $1.75 million and more in fees and commissions, 99.3 percent accepted a package that gives them a loan up-front equivalent to those fees and commissions and which Bank of America will pay down over a seven-year period.In all, about 6,600 advisors who brought in more than $500,000 for Merrill were eligible for a retention package.Merrill expects most of its remaining 10,000 brokers who were not offered bonuses will also join Bank of America, the spokeswoman said.Bank of America has said it will complete its purchase of Merrill by the end of the year. [Read the full article]
TURNING THE COMPLICATED INTO THE SIMPLE is a basic aim of online brokerage. It means bringing together the prices of everything from Nokia shares to options on South African gold to U.S. Treasury bonds on a single platform. It means simultaneously offering insights into Malaysian politics and Florida housing costs while organizing millions of electronic messages from global bourses for data, orders and transactions into information that investors can act on instantaneously.
Increasingly, these brokers must try to make intricate derivative structures understandable. And all this must be served up at credible prices.
Barron's brief in our 13th annual ranking of the Best Online Brokers is similar. We've pored over the offerings, operations and pricing of 23 firms to hone in on the best ones. Why not just one? It's our view that different keystrokes work better for different folks. [Read the full article]
NO INVESTMENT BROKERAGE IS TRULY BUILT to thrive in a grinding bear market that withers portfolios and paralyzes retail investors. But Charles Schwab
probably comes closer than any other, given its asset-gathering prowess, balanced and steady revenue streams and lean cost structure.
Add to it all Schwab's success over recent years in branding itself as the unconflicted "honest broker," and it becomes clear that the San Francisco company is well-positioned to withstand the tough environment and gain market share amid the industry tumult.
While Schwab's shares (Nasdaq: SCHW), at 16.61, have slid 30% in the past year, they've held up better than the Standard & Poor's 500 index and Schwab's nearest discount-broker and asset-manager peers. All of the decline has hit since early October, when the bottom fell out of the market, despite a still-strong business. Friday, the firm reported that its October trading volume was 56% above the year-earlier total and 25% ahead of September's. [Read the full article]
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