Charles Schwab Corp

Stock brokerage Charles Schwab Corp. scrapped a cost-cutting order requiring thousands of its employees to take off three days during the next month after discovering the plan raised "some legal questions." The San Francisco-based brokerage didn't disclose the nature of the problem. State labor regulators raised one possible reason for the reversal: Even if they were ordered to stay home, Schwab's salaried employees would have to be paid for days off that had been ordered for today and Feb.

Discount brokerage Charles Schwab Corp. said Thursday that it would end its membership at the New York Stock Exchange after the sale this year of a business that provided market making in stocks as well as research and institutional trading. San Francisco-based Schwab said it would sell three memberships, or seats, on the NYSE. The company said it would route customers' trades to the NYSE floor through an agreement with brokerage UBS.

The founder of Charles Schwab Corp. has decided to share the chief executive's title. David Pottruck, president and chief operating officer of the San Francisco-based discount broker, will get the additional title of co-chief executive starting Jan. 1. However, Charles R. Schwab will continue as chairman, and Pottruck will continue to report to him. Schwab, 60, stressed the move should not be considered as a step toward his own retirement. He has said in the past that he may never retire.

Reflecting the continuing malaise on Wall Street, Charles Schwab Corp., the world's biggest discount broker, said Thursday that its first-quarter earnings may fall below analysts' estimates as trading tumbles this year along with stocks. Profit forecasts of 8 cents a share are "too aggressive," Chief Financial Officer Christopher Dodds said.

Charles Schwab Corp., the largest U.S. discount broker, may use proceeds from the sale of its U.S. Trust private-banking unit to make acquisitions, Chief Executive Charles Schwab said Monday. Schwab told investors during a presentation at its San Francisco headquarters that his company might be interested in buying a firm that would expand its presence in the 401(k) retirement market. Any acquisition would be the first since January 2004, when the company bought SoundView Technology Group.

Discount brokerage Charles Schwab Corp. said Friday that it would split the jobs of chairman and chief executive in a bid to guard against concerns over its corporate governance structure. Charles Schwab, the 65-year-old founder of the world's biggest discount brokerage, will give up his co-CEO post but remain chairman, helping set strategy and representing the San Francisco-based firm to the public, spokesman Glen Mathison said. David S.

Enriched from the sale of its wealth-management subsidiary, Charles Schwab Corp. said Monday that it would distribute $3.5 billion to its stockholders by buying back stock and paying a one-time dividend. Schwab shares jumped $1.48, or 7.2%, to $22 on the news. The San Francisco-based discount stockbrokerage plans to pay as much as $22.50 a share for its own stock -- 10% above last week's closing price. The buyback price is to be set through an auction that guarantees those who sell at least $19.

Leading discount brokerage Charles Schwab Corp., reeling from a continuing slide in small investors' stock trading activity, said Thursday it will cut an additional 2,400 jobs, or 11% of its work force. The new cuts, which follow the firing of 3,400 people in the second quarter, will result in charges of $225 million and might include reductions at Schwab's U.S. Trust unit. Schwab expects to save $65 million a quarter in expenses with the new cuts.

Charles Schwab Corp., the world's largest discount brokerage, said Monday it was entering the Canadian market with the purchase of small Toronto-based discount broker Priority Brokerage Inc. and its full-service sister firm, Porthmeor Securities Inc.