Consumer Clips

Success with Sectors: A tightly focused investing program can help a portfolio thrive.
According to a recent study from Chicago-based Ibbotson Associates, a balanced portfolio of industry sectors could beat the overall market by an average of 0.55% a year. But the execution of this strategy is complex, and not everyone agrees sectors are the way to go.
Financial Planning Magazine Feature (Feb. 2003)
Internet calling becomes accessible
No more long distance bills! No more hassles with the phone company! It sounds like a scam, or a come-on for one of those dirt-cheap calling cards.
Wilmington Star News (Jan. 2003)

Web Mortgages May Be Due For a Comeback This Year
Even though Mortgage.com may have folded late last year, it's too soon to ring the death bell for the industry. Falling interest rates and increased familiarity with the Internet lead more homeowners to look at online mortgages.
Computerworld News (January 2001)

Internet Dominates Russia's Nascent Market
Newly formed stock markets have the luxury of avoiding burdensome traditions and impenetrable legacy systems. Russia is a prime example. The Russian equities market, fueled by advancements both large and small, has grown rapidly and is now dominated by Internet trading.
Securities Industry News Feature (April 2002)

Decimalization Finds Its First Victims at Ameritrade
The first decimalization-related problem of the year has hit Ameritrade customers.
Computerworld News (February 2001)

U.S. Brokerages and Banks Push to Close Wireless Cash Gap
According to a new report by Celent Communications, the total number of people worldwide who transfer money using wireless devices is expected to increase from 4.6 million today to 60 million by 2004.
Computerworld News (January 2001)

Citigroup Opens Online Brokerage
Citigroup launched its online brokerage last week. Called CitiTrade, it's a stand-alone brokerage - but may be coming too late to a crowded market where online brokers are starting to offer everything from soup to nuts.
Computerworld News (November 2000)

Schwab, Quick & Reilly Debut Wireless Trading
Two online brokerages - Charles Schwab and Quick & Reilly - have launched their wireless services, targeting the profitable frequent-trader customer base.
Computerworld News (June 2000)

SEC warns of dangers of after-hours trading
At request of Congress, SEC details risks of the fast-changing prices on after-hours exchanges, which might catch daylight traders off guard.
Computerworld News (June 2000)

Competition Brings Stock Trading Costs Down to Zero
New online brokerages are offering free stock trades, a feature that some analysts say could become profitable. But traditional online brokerages say they aren't worried about the competition because they offer specialized services that unestablished start-ups can't even touch.
Computerworld News (May 2000)

Voice Recognition Eases Call-In Trading
DLJdirect last week became the latest online brokerage to jump on the voice recognition bandwagon. Within the next few months, instead of touching "426" on the telephone keypad for IBM, customers will just be able to say the name of the company.
Computerworld News (May 2000)

Banks Offer Fractional Stock-Buying Service
Wells Fargo, Safeco Insurance & Life and a number of other financial service institutions are rolling out a service that lets their customers buy fractional shares of stocks - at $1 or $2 per transaction.
Computerworld News (May 2000)

LatinStocks.com launches Mexico site
LatinStocks.com announced the creation of its fourth site, and said it's working on offering trading at U.S., Mexico, Brazil and Argentina sites soon.
Computerworld News (April 2000)

Investment Clubs Move Online
A new Boulder, Colo.-based online service is taking it upon itself to transform the back-office operations of investment clubs -- semiformal informational consortia that fill a niche between do-it-yourself online brokerages and full-service houses.
Computerworld News (March 2000)

FTC Moves to Protect Financial Data Privacy
Companies are warning investors of possible fallout from privacy regulations proposed by the FTC, but privacy advocates say the regulations don't go far enough.
Computerworld News (March 2000)

Investors Are Wary of Handheld Trading
Is wireless good for brokers or not? Merrill Lynch's John Galvin says not yet. Others say it's time to get on the bandwagon.
Computerworld News (March 2000)

Site Opens Market To Small Investors
Two months ago, ShareBuilder.com began offering first-time and small investors the opportunity to easily and cheaply buy any dollar amounts of stock.
Computerworld News (February 2000)

NASD takes aim at online day-trading firms
Regulator charges online day-trading firms with misuse of customer funds, improper lending practices and exaggerated or misleading advertising.
Computerworld News (February 2000)