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While financial services issues are no longer on the front burner on Capitol Hill, several high profile topics this fall are likely to impact banks, especially any efforts to revitalize the housing market.

While there may be investing opportunities in the markets, the weak housing market and unemployment hovering just above 9% are the issues that concern the nation and that are depressing the president’s poll numbers. And, voters -- including those without jobs and those who want to look for better ones --are getting mighty impatient.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Wednesday said that it fined five brokerages close to $1 million for gouging clients in "postage and handling" fees.

IndexIQ, an issuer of mutual funds and ETFs that replicate the investments of hedge funds, this week said some of its most popular products not only bested the performance of the S&P 500 Index, but they also outperformed many of the larger hedge funds, too.

Charles Schwab Advisor Services announced a new business, Schwab Intelligent Technologies, marking a milestone in the company’s initiative to deliver integration solutions for registered investment advisors.

Opportunities are certain to be abundant for Sallie Krawcheck, the former president of global wealth and investment management at Bank of America Merrill Lynch who was shown the door in a Tuesday evening management shakeup. But can the same be said for the advisors left behind?

Now almost 30 years old and seemingly back at the top of her game, why would the pop superstar still need her father to serve as her conservator? One company claims it’s simply a ploy to duck a deposition in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit.

QuantShares on Wednesday announced it has licensed seven indexes in the Dow Jones U.S. Thematic Market Neutral Indexes series for individual exchange-traded funds. The ETF start-up has been planning the funds since January.

As registered investment advisors and fee-based advisers are challenged by increasing market volatility and declines, they are turning to alternative investment classes and tactical allocation to protect their clients’ portfolios. This was the major finding of a survey of 500 professionals by Jefferson National.

QuantShares on Wednesday announced it has licensed seven indexes in the Dow Jones U.S. Thematic Market Neutral Indexes series for individual exchange-traded funds. The ETF start-up has been planning the funds since January.

LIMRA's latest study finds that while life insurance ownership is at an “all-time low” in terms of the percentage of families that have coverage, this situation presents advisors with a huge opportunity for new policy sales.

A tip of the hat to Standard & Poor’s?

NYSE Euronext said it experienced huge surges in stock-trading activity on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean during August. The operator of the New York and Paris stock exchanges said it handled 2.2 million trades a day in Europe, up 70.3 percent from a year ago. This was a record, it said.

Deloitte Consulting has promoted Elizabeth Krentzman from principal to head of its mutual fund practice, a new position at the firm that oversees its auditing, tax, financial advisory and consulting businesses for the fund industry.

The dotcom crash and the Great Recession have taken a serious and lasting toll on the risk appetites of Generation Y, according to the latest MFS Investing Sentiment Survey. This generation, between the ages of 18 and 30, are “investing more like their parents and grandparents, many of whom grew up in the shadows of the Great Depression,” said William Finnegan, senior managing director of U.S. retail marketing for MFS.

Many of the country's largest banks received $6 billion in kickbacks from mortgage insurers over the course of a decade, according to a previously undisclosed investigation by the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Investors have flocked to exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes through the first eight months of the year. Year-to-date through August, net cash inflows were $73.2 billion, a 54% increase over the same period in 2010, according to data from National Stock Exchange, Inc.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it will seek public comment on a plan to conduct retrospective reviews of its existing regulations.

Fidessa said on Tuesday that Ruffer LLP, a London-based investment management company, has gone live with its Buy-side Workstation to execute trades in global markets through 50 broker-dealers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Los Angeles district office has obtained an emergency court order halting all operations and freezing the assets of a company it says has been “creating the illusion” for seven years that it was taking investors’ money and investing it in life settlements.