Portfolio

WASHINGTON — Republicans, as promised, banded together to block Senate debate on financial regulatory reform legislation Monday, picking up opposition from one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Armed with its first full period of earnings since buying Barclays Global Investors, BlackRock announced its profits quintupled in the first quarter.

As Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reached out to Republicans to get them on board with financial reforms, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who won the seat vacated by former Sen. Edward Kennedy, vociferously defended the mutual fund industry.

Wherever the money’s going, it’s not going to municipal bond mutual funds.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission said Monday it is seeking court orders to issue a trading ban against New York-based Tiger Asia hedge fund over alleged insider trading and market manipulation.

NEW YORK—Dividend-paying stocks may be the best option for investors looking for income, said Jason Brady, managing director and portfolio manager of Thornburg’s limited-term income and U.S. government strategies funds, speaking at the annual spring forum of the Financial Planning Association’s New York chapter last week.

Although financial advisers expect 2010 to be a great year, wirehouses are still feeling the turbulence, and concerns about breakaway brokers, although waning, remain, according to Aite Group.

A few months after its acquisition by Intuit, Mint.com has linked up with Intuit Financial Services’ aggregation capabilities, a move that should add millions of potential users to Mint.com’s roster, which currently totals one million people.

Ladenburg is making to deal to expand its trust services for its advisors.

A Thornburg portfolio manager says dividend-paying stocks may be income-seeking investors’ best option right now.