Discount brokers lost a vote of confidence from equity analysts at Goldman Sachs Group on Monday. In a report, Goldman cut its recommendation on TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD) to neutral from buy, and lowered its price target to $21 from $24. It kept its ratings on The Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) and E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) at “sell” and “buy,” respectively, but lowered its target prices on those firms and also on discount brokers OptionsXpress (OXPS) and TradeStation Group (TRAD).
The Charles Schwab Corp. said daily trading volume dropped 27% in November from a year ago. That dropoff will cut into fourth-quarter profits, the retail brokerage said Monday.
Bank of America's outgoing CEO Ken Lewis says the economy may be improving but the recovery in the financial industry remains slow.
Bank of New York Mellon, fresh off of one of the largest mergers in the banking and wealth management industries, is now back on the prowl for more acquisitions, according to published reports.
