Industry News

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NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 03, 2009
Rydex Financial Services being sold to Ceros Financial

Rydex Financial Services, the brokerage arm of Rydex Investments of Rockville, Md., is being sold to Boston-based CEROS Financial Services Inc., a unit of CEROS Holding AG of Luzern, Switzerland.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 03, 2009
Bernanke: start work now to curb budget deficit

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is urging Congress and the Obama administration to start plotting a strategy to curb record-high U.S. budget deficits. Failing to do so could eventually erode investor confidence and endanger the economy's prospects for long-term health, he said.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 03, 2009
ISM: U.S. service economy shrinks more slowly in May

The U.S. service sector shrank last month at the slowest pace since late last year and orders to U.S. factory orders rose in April, but the improvements were incremental and economists say a real recovery will be long and slow.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 03, 2009
Factory orders rise for second time in three months

Orders to U.S. factories rose 0.7 percent in April, the second increase in three months and further evidence that manufacturers may be recovering.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 03, 2009
Job losses hit 579K in May

Job losses will continue to mount as the nation is expected to lose an average of 500,000 to 600,000 jobs each month for the next few months, the report said.

By Sue Asci
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 03, 2009
Finra brought fewer enforcement actions in '08; fines against individuals fell as well

As the stock market plummeted in 2008 and chaos reigned on Wall Street, Finra regulators found less reason to levy fines and enforcement actions against broker-dealers and their registered reps, according to a study.

By Bruce Kelly
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 03, 2009
Group says U.S. services economy shrinks in May

A trade group says its measure of the health of the U.S. services economy shrank in May at the slowest pace since October.

By D Hampton
NEWS ALTERNATIVES JUN 02, 2009
Pending home sales spike 6.7% in April

The number of U.S. homebuyers who agreed to purchase a previously occupied home in April posted the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years, a sign that sales are finally coming to life after a long and painful slump.

By Associated Press
NEWS RETIREMENT PLANNING JUN 02, 2009
Sales of 'investment-only' assets shrank less than retail funds, FRC finds

Money managers saw assets sold through unaffiliated third-party defined contribution record keepers shrink less than their retail mutual funds last year, according to a report released yesterday by Boston-based Financial Research Corp.

By Sue Asci
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES JUN 02, 2009
Moody's to eye insurance companies' recapitalization efforts

As some insurers recently made stock and debt offerings in lieu of participating in the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, Moody’s Investors Service said that it will review the way these recapitalization options affect carriers’ ratings.

By Darla Mercado
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 01, 2009
JPMorgan CEO makes TARP wisecracks

Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s chief executive, expressed frustration about how bankers have been vilified since the financial crisis began last year.

By IN Staff
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES JUN 01, 2009
Hancock Financial launches simplified variable annuity

John Hancock Financial Services today released a variable annuity called the John Hancock AnnuityNote.

By Darla Mercado
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 01, 2009
Travelers Cos. to replace Citigroup Inc. in Dow Industrials

Seven years after being spun off by Citigroup Inc., Travelers Cos. is supplanting its former parent as a member of the Dow Jones industrial average.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 01, 2009
Manufacturing sector shrinking at slower pace

Economists expect an index measuring the manufacturing sector's health to have contracted at a slower pace in May than in the previous month.

By Associated Press
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS JUN 01, 2009
Consumer spending dips, savings rate surges

Frugal consumers trimmed spending in April — although by less than expected — as rising unemployment kept pocketbooks in check and motivated Americans to save.

By Bloomberg
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 31, 2009
College search net widens

The recession may have put a crimp in college savings plans, but it has actually heightened interest among parents and students in a greater variety of colleges, according to one industry observer.

By Charles Paikert
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 31, 2009
More advisers turn to technical analysis

In the wake of the stock market downturn, more financial advisers are turning to technical analysis.

By Dan Jamieson
NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES MAY 31, 2009
Insurance Information Act of 2009, NARAB II likely to face uphill battle in Senate

Two bills that would transform the way insurance agents are licensed and regulated are likely to face a difficult time in the Senate, according to insurance industry officials.

By Sara Hansard
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS MAY 31, 2009
Russell indexes to get a face-lift this month

Thanks to unprecedented market volatility, widely followed style indexes published by Russell Investments are expected to look substantially different at the end of the month when the firm's stock indexes are re-balanced.

By David Hoffman
NEWS REGULATION AND LEGISLATION MAY 31, 2009
Smith Barney charges broker breached a contract

Smith Barney is not letting at least one of its brokers break away without a fight.

By Mark Bruno