Investing 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 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)

Nasdaq Begins Trading Stocks in Decimals
The Nasdaq Stock Market caught up to the rest of the securities industry -- and the rest of the world -- last week when it finally dropped fractions and switched to decimal stock pricing.
Computerworld News (April 2001)

Brokerage Joins Movement Away From Net Pure-Plays
In yet another example of the move away from Internet pure-plays, online brokerage Suretrade will officially be folded back into parent company Quick & Reilly as of March 3.
Computerworld News (February 2001)

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)

New SEC Rule Pushes More Firms to Web
According to a new rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission, all investors have the right to know about news that could affect a company's stock price. And vendors are offering all kinds of information technology to help customers comply with that rule.
Computerworld News (November 2000)

Schwab Strikes Deal With AOL
America Online has aligned itself with Charles Schwab in the largest online marketing deal ever for the brokerage.
Computerworld News (November 2000)

In Internet First, Wells Fargo Sued Over Alleged Racial Text on Site
Wells Fargo is re-evaluating its "Community Search Service" partner after a national community organization sued the company over what it called "explicit racial classifications and racial stereotypes of neighborhoods" at the end of June.
Computerworld News (July 2000)

ETrade to buy Canadian e-broker
Pays $174 million for Canadian licensee, for robust trading system, greater access to international trading capability.
Computerworld News (June 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)

ETrade, Ernst & Young Pair Up to Offer Financial Advice
Online brokerage ETrade and Big Five consultant Ernst & Young have joined forces to form a new company that aims to marry personalized financial advice and the Internet.
Computerworld News (June 2000)

Stormy weather for tech IPOs
The first quarter of 2000 was a record breaker for IPOs and venture capital funding. While the recent swings in the market have cast a shadow over the investment community, industry watchers say committment to technology is still strong.
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)

ETrade Fined for Slow Complaint Response
NASD Regulation Inc., the regulatory arm of the National Association of Securities Dealers Inc., censured and fined ETrade Securities Inc. $20,000 last week for its slow response to the regulators' requests for information about customer complaints.
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)

Record volume snarls Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Stock Market suffered capacity-related delays in its stock quotation system.
Computerworld News (April 2000)

SEC vows hands off e-mail, chat rooms
In response to concern about the agency's plans to monitor the Internet for illegal activities, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission promised that the SEC will not snoop on electronic conversations and e-mail.
Computerworld News (April 2000)

Three stock exchanges zapped by computer glitches
Three of the world's largest stock exchanges -- Nasdaq, London and Toronto -- each suffered from unrelated systems outages and slowdowns at different times this week during periods of particularly heavy trading.
Computerworld News (April 2000)

Network glitch delays London Stock Exchange opening eight hours
A glitch in a network that sends real-time price information and other data from central trading systems to market users forced the London Stock Exchange to extend its trading hours.
Computerworld News (April 2000)

ETrade Makes Move From Clicks to Bricks
ETrade plans to turn ATMs into financial kiosks.
Computerworld News (March 2000)

SEC alleges Internet insider trading ring
A word processing temp at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston is accused of being the linchpin in an Internet trading scam that enabled 19 people -- including himself -- to make $8.4 million in illegal tips.
Computerworld News (March 2000)

ETrade to buy largest independent network of ATMs
ETrade Group plans to acquire the nation's largest independent network of automated teller machines and become the third-largest operator of ATMs in the U.S.
Computerworld News (March 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)