At the bell

Ameriprise declines to accept TARP money

Ameriprise Financial Inc. on Friday stepped back from receiving TARP money, less than 24 hours after the Department of the Treasury cleared it to participate in the program. The Minneapolis-based insurer said that its capital position is more than adequate and that it doesn't need to participate in the Capital Purchase Program, a part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Analysts said that the Principal Financial Group Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, and Prudential Financial Inc. of Newark, N.J., two of the five other TARP insurer recipients named last week, may also decline to accept the money.

Barclays may soon sell its BGI unit

Barclays PLC could soon sell its entire money management unit for a reported $10 billion. In a statement on its website Friday, London-based Barclays, said that it “has received a number of expressions of interest” in San Francisco-based Barclays Global Investors, which manages more than $1.3 trillion in assets.

Finra and SEC will work together, study predicts

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. will likely take a more active role in the examination of registered investment advisers as a result of regulatory reform, the Tower Group Inc. concluded in a study due out today. In fact, the Needham, Mass.-based consulting firm is expected to say that in a “best-case scenario,” Finra of New York and Washington would be given the responsibility of examining advisers while the Securities and Exchange Commission would have oversight.

LPL 1Q profit rose but revenue dropped

LPL Investment Holdings Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $14.8 million, up 26.8% from a year earlier, but revenue from commissions, advisory fees and other fees and transactions was $643 million, a drop of 19.5%. LPL of Boston also said that one of its affiliated broker-dealers, Associated Securities Corp. of El Segundo, Calif., and a formerly affiliated rep were found jointly liable in a March arbitration decision for damages totaling $8.86 million. Associated Securities has filed a motion to vacate the decision.

MacroMarkets to pull the plug on oil trusts

MacroMarkets LLC on Friday announced the termination of the MacroShares $100 Oil Up Trust (UOY) and the MacroShares $100 Oil Down Trust (DOY). The trusts — which are similar to exchange traded funds — will continue to trade until June 25, according to the Madison, N.J.-based firm.

Consumer sentiment rose from April

The Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 67.9 through May 14, up from 65.1 last month, according to preliminary data from the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. Reuters is based in New York, and the University of Michigan is in Ann Arbor.