Charles R Schwab

Charles R. Schwab, with considerable help from Los Angeles' Security Pacific National Bank, on Tuesday completed the $280-million buyback of his discount brokerage firm from BankAmerica. The leveraged buyout was accomplished by a group of investors known as CL Acquisition Corp., led by Schwab, senior managers of his firm and brokerage employees.

Charles R. Schwab grabbed back the helm of his foundering discount brokerage in 2004 and vowed to put the company back on course. Schwab now must be feeling comfortable enough to try handing off control again: San Francisco-based Charles Schwab Corp. on Tuesday said its board had elected Walter W. Bettinger II as chief executive, succeeding the namesake. Bettinger, 47, has been the heir apparent since he was named president and chief operating officer in February 2007. He will take over Oct. 1.

Charles R. Schwab, chairman and chief executive of the brokerage firm that bears his name, is protected by the company -- literally. San Francisco-based Charles Schwab Corp. has spent $2.68 million since 2003 for security systems and equipment to protect the company's founder and its public face, according to its proxy, which was filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Charles R. Schwab, chairman and chief executive of the brokerage firm that bears his name, is protected by the company -- literally. San Francisco-based Charles Schwab Corp. has spent $2.68 million since 2003 for security systems and equipment to protect the company's founder and its public face, according to its proxy, which was filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Charles Schwab Corp. said Wednesday that it planned to close 53 more branches and that it had laid off an additional 245 workers, beginning an upheaval that the brokerage firm telegraphed last week when it abruptly changed CEOs. The office closures represent 16% of Schwab's 339 branches across the country. The retreat will leave Schwab with fewer than 290 branches, down from about 400 three years ago.

Charles R. Schwab grabbed back the helm of his foundering discount brokerage in 2004 and vowed to put the company back on course. Schwab now must be feeling comfortable enough to try handing off control again: San Francisco-based Charles Schwab Corp. on Tuesday said its board had elected Walter W. Bettinger II as chief executive, succeeding the namesake. Bettinger, 47, has been the heir apparent since he was named president and chief operating officer in February 2007. He will take over Oct. 1.

Moving quickly to take advantage of the raging bull market, Charles R. Schwab filed a registration statement with the Securities & Exchange Commission proposing to sell shares in his discount brokerage firm to the public. Under the proposed transaction, which was unveiled less than four months after a group led by Schwab repurchased the company he had founded from beleaguered BankAmerica, Charles Schwab Corp. will sell 7 million shares to the public at $14 to $17 a share.

Struggling to find a viable growth strategy in the brokerage business, Charles Schwab Corp. dumped its chief executive Tuesday and gave the helm back to its namesake founder. The surprise move raised new questions about the San Francisco-based firm's efforts in recent years to diversify its operations away from the discount brokerage business it pioneered 30 years ago. Schwab said CEO David S. Pottruck, 55, had quit and was immediately succeeded by Charles R.

Charles R. Schwab feels like a hostage set free after a long captivity. When the brash young executive sold his fast-growing Charles Schwab & Co. discount stock brokerage to BankAmerica in 1983, its ability to develop and market new products was soon limited by regulatory shackles that prevent banks and their subsidiaries from entering businesses such as insurance and securities underwriting.

The financial markets have never lacked for visionaries, people like Charles E. Merrill, who started Merrill Lynch & Co. in 1914. Aided by an unapologetic flair for self-promotion, he built the nation's biggest brokerage house by catering to the "little guy." The 1995 version of Merrill is Charles R. Schwab. With a blend of cutting-edge technology and old-fashioned sales and marketing, Schwab is once again radically altering how Americans of all incomes invest their money.

Charles Schwab, founder and chief executive of the discount brokerage firm that bears his name, declined to accept a $4.5-million bonus, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. Charles Schwab Corp. shares rose 1% last year, lagging behind a 15% rise in the Amex Broker-Dealer index. The stock rose 34 cents Wednesday to $10.43 on the New York Stock Exchange. Schwab, who owns 19.

Charles Schwab Corp. said Wednesday that it planned to close 53 more branches and that it had laid off an additional 245 workers, beginning an upheaval that the brokerage firm telegraphed last week when it abruptly changed CEOs. The office closures represent 16% of Schwab's 339 branches across the country. The retreat will leave Schwab with fewer than 290 branches, down from about 400 three years ago.

Struggling to find a viable growth strategy in the brokerage business, Charles Schwab Corp. dumped its chief executive Tuesday and gave the helm back to its namesake founder. The surprise move raised new questions about the San Francisco-based firm's efforts in recent years to diversify its operations away from the discount brokerage business it pioneered 30 years ago. Schwab said CEO David S. Pottruck, 55, had quit and was immediately succeeded by Charles R.

Law enforcement authorities were attempting Tuesday to find a motive and the culprit behind explosive devices found Monday at the Pebble Beach, Calif., home of Charles Schwab and the Carmel office of the discount brokerage firm he founded. The devices, which consisted of briefcases full of wires, telephone parts and propane canisters, were dangerous, according to the Monterey County sheriff's office, which exploded the containers late Monday with the help of a bomb squad.

Bombs were found Monday at the home of businessman Charles Schwab and at an office for his stock brokerage. One device, a package with wires sticking out of it, was found at a Charles Schwab Corp. office at a mall in Carmel about 7:15 a.m. A similar device was found later on the doorstep of Schwab's home in Pebble Beach, according to Donna Galletti, spokeswoman for the Monterey County Sheriff's Department. It was unclear whether Schwab was at home when the device was discovered, Galletti said.

Charles Schwab, who resigned three months ago as co-chief executive of the discount brokerage firm he founded in 1971, sold 2.6 million shares in the company for $26.2 million in the last week. Schwab, who turned 66 on July 29, sold 1 million shares of San Francisco-based Charles Schwab & Co. at $9.88 each on Aug. 4 and another million -- half at $10.10 a share and half at $10.04 -- on Aug. 1, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bombs were found Monday at the home of businessman Charles Schwab and at an office for his stock brokerage. One device, a package with wires sticking out of it, was found at a Charles Schwab Corp. office at a mall in Carmel about 7:15 a.m. A similar device was found later on the doorstep of Schwab's home in Pebble Beach, according to Donna Galletti, spokeswoman for the Monterey County Sheriff's Department. It was unclear whether Schwab was at home when the device was discovered, Galletti said.

Charles Schwab, co-chief executive and founder of the world's largest discount-brokerage network, said Monday that he is buying blue-chip and technology stocks. In an interview at his company's Impact '98 conference in Orlando, Fla., Schwab said that "we have seen the worst of" the bear market and of "the extreme emotionalism" that hurt equities this year.

Charles Schwab, co-chief executive and founder of the world's largest discount-brokerage network, said Monday that he is buying blue-chip and technology stocks. In an interview at his company's Impact '98 conference in Orlando, Fla., Schwab said that "we have seen the worst of" the bear market and of "the extreme emotionalism" that hurt equities this year.

Chuck Schwab is worried about how you feel. Honest. Now that he's helped usher in this age of unprecedented investing by individuals, the founder and chairman of financial services giant Charles Schwab Corp. is concerned that many of those investors aren't mentally prepared for a brutal, sustained drop in the stock market. Schwab--whose firm is the largest U.S. discount brokerage and a leading purveyor of mutual funds and other financial services--isn't predicting a bear market.