Fidelity halves online bond-trading fees

THE REGION

Fidelity Investments said it is cutting the cost of its online bond trades for retail investors. The firm cut fees by 50 percent for online fixed-income trades to retail investors buying or selling bonds. For example, US Treasuries will now cost 50 cents to trade, per bond; government agencies and Treasury Strips, $1; municipal bonds $1.50; corporate bonds $2; and mortgage-backed securities, $2.50, the company said. Fidelity does not charge a retail brokerage concession for purchasing US Treasuries at auction online. Fidelity said it also established pricing caps for its retail-brokerage bond-trading fees. The minimum concession to buy or sell a bond is now $19.95 and the maximum for retail buyers is $500 regardless of the quantity or type of bond or whether the trade is executed online or via telephone. (Dow Jones)

Zoll Medical earnings tumble 56%

Zoll Medical Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings fell 56 percent on an expected missed shipment stemming from late orders, a higher volume of low-parameter hospital business resulting in lower overall prices, and disappointing results from its international segment. Although the company missed analysts' mean earnings expectations, it did beat its own earnings and sales outlook for the fourth quarter. The Chelmsford maker of heart resuscitation devices also provided fiscal 2005 earnings guidance roughly in line with current Wall Street estimates. Zoll said its latest fourth-quarter earnings were $2.15 million, or 23 cents a share, which missed a lowered analysts' mean forecast of 25 cents a share but was at the low end of the company's October guidance for earnings of 23 cents to 28 cents a share. A year earlier, earnings were $4.87 million, or 53 cents a share. Sales for the fourth quarter ended Oct. 3 rose 11 percent to $55.7 million from $50.2 million, slightly ahead of both Wall Street and its own projections of $55 million. (Dow Jones)

2 employees fired for 'noncooperation'

Two employees of The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. were fired after the company concluded they were not fully cooperating with an investigation by the New York attorney general's office into insurance industry practices. The two employees, who were not identified, worked for The Hartford's property-casualty operations in the company's Los Angeles office. ''Our conclusion that these employees failed fully to cooperate with the New York attorney general gives us no alternative but to part ways with them," Joshua King, spokesman for The Hartford, said. ''There is simply no room for compromise regarding The Hartford's commitment to cooperate." King would not say how the employees failed to cooperate. (AP)

THE NATION

3 Amex executives get SEC notices

The three top executives at the American Stock Exchange received Wells notices from the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of an investigation into options trading and regulatory issues at the exchange, Amex confirmed. The Wells notices allow the executives -- chairman and chief executive Salvatore Sodano, president Peter Quick, and general counsel Michael Ryan Jr. -- to make statements to the SEC before its investigators decide whether to take civil action against them. The notices are part of an ongoing SEC investigation into Amex's options trading practices, first made public in June 2003. The probe centers on possible violations of a 2000 settlement agreement made by Amex and other options exchanges with federal regulators following charges of price-fixing and inadequate policing of trading misconduct. (AP)

Retirement hopes unrealistic for many

Many US investors still have unrealistic expectations for their retirement, according to a poll of more than 1,000 people by UBS AG and The Gallup Organization. Almost 80 percent of nonretired investors surveyed expect to have paid off their mortgages by the time they retire, while only 64 percent of retired investors said they actually achieved that goal. Almost 90 percent of today's wage earners said they expect to do some kind of work after retirement, but only 56 percent of those currently retired actually do, the survey reported. Of those people surveyed, 612 were still working and 412 were retired. More than half who are still in the workplace said one of their major fears is outliving their assets. Most investors polled said they will have to stay in the workplace longer than many did in the past. About 57 percent of investors polled expect to retire after the age of 62, compared to just 36 percent in 1998. (Reuters)

Chicago Exchange OK's for-profit status

Chicago Stock Exchange members overwhelmingly approved a for-profit plan for the exchange, adding the CHX to the throng of other exchanges that are restructuring and may eventually launch an initial public offering. A spokesman for the exchange said 314 members voted in favor of the CHX's plan to retool itself as a more corporate-like entity, with only one vote against the plan. The exchange needed 226 votes in favor for the plan to pass. The for-profit plan still needs the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission before implementation. CHX vice chairman Andrew Davis said he hopes regulatory approval will come this calendar year. (Dow Jones/AP)

Glitches hit Microsoft search engine test

Microsoft Corp.'s widely anticipated search engine, which launched in test mode, encountered some glitches on its first day, the world's largest software maker said. The search engine, Microsoft's first assault on Google Inc.'s leading position in the market, returned ''temporarily unavailable" messages to some users looking for answers to queries on its website at beta.search.msn.com. ''In the process of making our new MSN Search Beta globally available, we experienced technical difficulties that rendered it unavailable for some consumers for periods of time," Microsoft said. Microsoft said it expected such problems during its test mode, while soliciting feedback from users. (Reuters)

Brokerage to close 19 branch offices

Charles Schwab Corp. will shut 19 branch offices, convert 39 full-sized branches into smaller satellite offices, and open 15 satellite offices as part of a retail brokerage strategy. The company said the changes will provide face-to-face service to investors in areas that don't generate enough customer traffic to support a larger branch. The changes will result in ''a relatively small number" of layoffs at retail branches, according to Schwab spokeswoman Sarah Bulgatz. She refused to say specifically how many people will be laid off, but said the number is included in the 400 to 600 job cuts expected by year-end that the company revealed in August. Schwab, which has been hurt by a slowdown in retail investor activity, has previously said it estimates its cost-reduction efforts will result in about $275 million in annual savings by year-end. (Dow Jones/AP)

THE WORLD

Restatement postponed for third time

Nortel Networks Corp. postponed its financial restatement, the third time the company has missed a self-imposed deadline, and said it overstated revenue by $3.1 billion in 1999 and 2000. Shares fell 21 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $3.37. The accounting revisions are so broad that the revenue numbers need to be double-checked, the Brampton, Ontario-based company said. Sales for 2000, the height of the technology-market boom, will be reduced by $2.5 billion. Of that figure, $250 million will be ''permanently" erased and the rest moved to later periods. Nortel, North America's largest telephone-equipment maker, has taken eight months to restate as it reviews accounting errors. (Bloomberg)