Warnings from
Schwab lowered its first-quarter profit forecast Thursday, and Ameritrade lowered its second-quarter and full-year predictions Friday. Trading volume in February declined 20% for Schwab from year-ago levels, while it sank 21% for Schwab.
Ameritrade Chief Executive Officer Joseph Moglia provided tempered optimism for his business to improve. "I think this is as low a point for the industry in decades, but eventually this will bottom out," Moglia told Reuters. "Can we go lower? Yes, we can lower. But can it bottom out relatively quickly and become a very nice sustained rally? Yes, that can happen too."
One upside that could come out of this challenging business environment might be consolidation in the industry, Moglia said.
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The staff of Mutual Fund Market News ("MFMN") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MFMN, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.
