Trends are so obvious that they insidiously weave themselves into our lives until they emerge as a constant. Whether it be the fattening of Americans or the pollution of the air we breathe, trends left unattended often have a negative impact. The...

American Express Financial Advisors, through its 7,000 independent brokers across the country, is going on the recruiting warpath. The firm is trying to get less experienced brokers, including those that have been laid off, to serve as associate...

And a little bit o' broker, too. Massachusetts-based Paine-Webber broker Mike Serafino, a 21-year industry vet, has managed to keep himself in tune over the years. Check out his collection of songs, Kid Stone, available at kidstone.net. On it, he...

Can't get compliance to call you back? Well, if you need to feel like you're in charge of the world for a few minutes, try calling 800-778-4665. Prudential unveiled the world's first interactive sign in Times Square. The public can control the...

Brokers at UBS Securities received a double hit of bad news in early December. Not only were they informed that the bonuses they receive for assets under management were being cut, but expense accounts are being trimmed as well. Several components...

For the thousands of reps who have found themselves unemployed since industry employment peaked in 2000, the matter of retaining one's license to sell securities is a potential issue. Even those who have new jobs albeit with different...

These days everybody wants to beat up the market. Two physicists at the University of California who have also studied earthquakes applied methods of statistical physics to the markets and came up with the prediction that stocks will drop 30...

Opponents of Salomon Smith Barney's CAP plan, a deferred compensation plan that requires employees to contribute wages through payroll deductions to purchase restricted shares of company stock, have been shot down repeatedly in their attempts to...

Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges. So go the famous lines from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the 1948 Humphrey Bogart movie. This might as well be a quote from the NASD these...

Wachovia Securities wants advisors to know where their clients want to be, not just where they are now. The firm plans early this year to unveil a new software package for its advisors to help clients figure out their retirement goals and the...