Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (90906)	1/13/2000 1:32:00 AM
From: Randy Ellingson	Respond to of 164684

Cool new feature from mp3.com: news.cnet.com The Beam-It feature allows you to insert your copy of a CD to prove ownership, and you can then access (courtesy of mp3.com delivery) the hi-fi .mp3 version anywhere/anytime when logged in. I wonder if they'll get away with this. Randy

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (90906)	1/13/2000 10:29:00 AM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

William, is the US Trust that Schawb acquired YOUR US Trust? > New York, Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Charles Schwab Corp., the biggest Internet brokerage, agreed to buy money manager U.S. Trust Corp. for $2.7 billion in stock, extending its discount business to cater to wealthy individuals. U.S. Trust shareholders will get 3.427 shares of Schwab for each share of U.S. Trust, valuing them at $129 apiece, 63 percent more than its closing stock price yesterday. Combining the online business with the old-line firm underscores a broader shift in the financial services industry. Internet-based companies are bulking up to compete with full- service firms such as Merrill Lynch & Co. that have started Internet units. At the same time, competition from Web-based rivals such as ETrade Group Inc. is slicing brokerage profits. ``This is the crown jewel of trust combining with the crown jewel of financial technology and there are huge synergies, so this will add to earnings' said Amy Butte, analyst with Bear Stearns Cos. ``Schwab's whole issue is that they have been losing clients and this will answer that.' U.S. Trust shares jumped 40 percent to 110 3/4. Schwab fell 8.3 percent to 34 1/2 after the announcement, which marks a departure for the San Francisco-based firm. Schwab rarely makes acquisitions, and the U.S. Trust purchase would be its biggest. Since Merrill announced its plans to go online June 1, Schwab stock has fallen 30 percent compared with an 12 percent increase in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Wealth Management The 147-year-old U.S. Trust has $86 billion under management, and provides investment management, consulting, estate planning and private banking to wealthy individuals. About one-third of Schwab's more than $600 billion in assets are managed by outside financial advisors. The transaction is expected to close in July and is expected to qualify as a pooling of interest, meaning Schwab won't have to take the premium it is paying as a charge against earnings. Goldman Sachs advised Schwab while Credit Suisse First Boston advised U.S. Trust. Today there are over 6 million U.S. households each with a net worth of over $1 million. More than 3 million households in the U.S. have investable assets in excess of $1 million, and that number of households is expected to grow by about 14 percent over the next three years. The market for wealthy investors is expected to jump 50 percent to $32.7 trillion worldwide by 2003, and financial services companies are rushing in by buying money managers catering to rich people*. In September, UBS AG, the world's biggest money manager, agreed to buy Global Asset Management Ltd. for as much as $675 million, boosting its private banking business by adding more than 150,000 rich clients.