Merrill Lynch is offering new retail clients 100 dollars to open an ML Direct Cash Management Account. Between now and July 21, clients who sign up for ML Direct's CMA using the firm's online account application will have 100 dollars deposited...

The staggering escalation of salaries for professional athletes over the past 20 years has meant that many players learned a lot about stocks, bonds, mutual funds and annuities. A handful of former pros enjoyed investing so much and were so adept...

When brokers change firms, they can get sued. The losing dealers sometimes go to court seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO). This "injunctive relief" prohibits a rep from contacting customers and prevents customers from transferring...

First Union Securities says it plans to start treating its retail brokers more like clients. It implemented Service First, a program to improve how it meets reps' needs.Effective July 1, all corporate offices that support producers (departments...

A few virtual brokerages are deciding that they need real branches to woo new customers and increase access to services.According to a report by Forrester Research, the Cambridge, Mass.-based Internet trend tracker, E*Trade, Datek and Web Street...

Even during his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Jim Spanarkel knew basketball wouldn't last forever. He's a Merrill Lynch broker now.Jim Spanarkel knows how to rebound. As a standout swingman with Duke University's championship...

In the early 1990s, if you wanted to provide fee-based financial advice, going it alone as a registered investment adviser was about the only way. A small, but steady stream of wirehouse refugees began to set up RIA firms.Now the RIA stream has...

Dain Rauscher is teaming up with Detroit-based Comerica, a national bank and trust company, to launch a new trust and estate service. The venture will establish dedicated offices around the country.Beginning this month, brokers will start a...

Limit order handling rules passed in the wake of the Nasdaq price collusion scandal have been widely ignored, according to the SEC.Based on exams conducted over the past three years, the SEC found that most market makers and SROs have no audit...

Merrill Lynch has pulled out of the retail securities business in Puerto Rico. The firm sold its branch operations and client lists to Santander Securities Corp. in late February for 15 million dollars. It said that its investment was not paying...