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To: Lost1 who wrote (1190)	9/17/2002 5:16:38 PM
From: MulhollandDrive	Respond to of 57110

biz.yahoo.com Schwab Plans More Job Cuts as Investor Activity Weakens Tuesday September 17, 11:39 am ET By Gaston F. Ceron Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE:SCH - News) expects to reduce its work force by about 10% as the discount-brokerage giant continues to feel the pinch of an uncertain trading environment. Schwab had 18,800 employees at the end of August. Chief Financial Officer Christopher Dodds said Tuesday he is now projecting third-quarter earnings ranging from seven cents to eight cents a share, excluding restructuring charges. That would be in line with the eight cents-a- share forecast from analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. Mr. Dodds' outlook came after Schwab released a trading-activity report that showed clients' trading slowed in August from July levels, which Schwab blamed on a seasonal summer trading lull and on investors' concerns about the stock market and world events. Schwab, which carried out two rounds of layoffs last year, was already bracing for more cutbacks. Last month the San Francisco-based firm announced the elimination of about 375 jobs, with about 300 of that total coming from the shuttering of an Austin, Texas, customer-service call center. At that point, Schwab also said it was planning an additional $200 million in cost cuts, including more job losses. Schwab processed an average of 168,200 client trades a day in August, up 4% from August 2001 but down 25% from July. The firm's revenue-generating trades averaged 117,500 a day in August, up 3% from a year ago but down 25% from July. September didn't get off to a great start, as clients' trading levels " remained muted during the first two weeks," said Schwab President and co-Chief Executive David Pottruck, in a statement. He said revenue-generating trades fell to an average of 100,000 during the first nine trading days of September. "These conditions have resulted in sustained pressure on our ability to improve the company's financial performance," Mr. Pottruck said. Schwab and other brokerage firms have seen their results come under pressure as the weak market and the slew of corporate scandals have kept many investors on the sidelines. Schwab said it is on track to implement measures by the end of the year aimed at cutting more than $225 million in annual costs. The figure includes savings from the layoffs announced in August as well as from the additional 10% in job cuts and from reductions in other expenses such as advertising. Amid the difficult market conditions, Schwab executives said they took heart from the consistency in the net new assets that Schwab has been able to attract from clients in recent months. In August, Schwab pulled in $4.4 billion in net new assets from new and current clients, compared with $4.4 billion in July, $ 4.3 billion in June and $4.6 billion in May. Mr. Dodds said the August net new asset tally "is not up to the level of our goals or objectives" -- in August of last year, Schwab pulled in $6.7 billion in net new assets, but "the consistency is highly indicative of our ability to keep building relationships" in a tough market. Schwab ended August with $767.6 billion in total client assets, up from $761.4 billion in July but down from $821 billion in August 2001. - Gaston F. Ceron, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5234;