Most people watching TV Wednesday night were interrupted by a special address by President Bush at 9:00PM (I was fairly impressed how the major stations scrambled to get their schedules adjusted). During the 13 minute address to the nation, President Bush described the situation down to the very tiny bit of detail. Perhaps one of his last televised address to the nation as President of the United States, it was short, concise, and quite informative to the average American. Most of all, it did not include all the finger pointing we’ve heard in the last few months from both parties.
It’s been almost two days since the address, and still there is no bailout package. Do you think it will happen sooner rather than later? A lot can happen over the course of a few days, lets wait and see.
September 26th, 2008
Dear Firstrade Customer,
The serious issues taking place within the financial services industry continue to evolve as we learn more details and come to terms with their impact on the nation’s financial markets. We remind our clients that Firstrade continues to have no direct exposure to the U.S. real estate market and the associated complex financial securities that are at the root of this liquidity crisis. In fact, Firstrade does not take proprietary risk on its balance sheet.
This widespread turbulence in the financial markets has prompted a number of questions about the impact on the money market funds offered by Firstrade. These money market funds are managed by DB Advisors, a part of the Deutsche Bank Group.
As of today, the money market funds offered by Firstrade do not have any direct or indirect exposure to Lehman Brothers, American International Group (AIG) and Merrill Lynch. While these events may present challenges, they underscore the importance of a strong investment process that emphasizes credit and risk management. More recently, the funds have been using a core position in U.S. Treasury securities to gain added liquidity and flexibility.
The portfolio holdings have been updated as of 9/12/08, and you can find this information on the Deutsche Bank website. For funds participating in money market transparency, detailed risk analytics are now available as of 8/29/08.
September 18th, 2008
Over the past 2 weeks we have started to roll out new Quotes, Charts and other Tools from our new content provider Interactive Data. And we have only just begun.
In the next few weeks, we plan to deploy SEC Filings, Insiders, and many other exciting tools and features. It’s an ongoing project from now until the end of Q1′09. Something new every week. If you look close enough, something new almost every other day.
Like I said two posts ago, it’s time for an upgrade. More to come…
September 18th, 2008
For the past few years, many Chinese portals included a special field for the Chinese stocks: “Olympics Concept”. The objective was to inform the reader whether this company stands to benefit, directly or indirectly from the Olympics in Beijing. Airlines, Travel Agencies, Mobile Phones, and possibly even the manufacturer of those shiny suits adorned with LEDs worn by the performers.
Now that the games are over, the craze is also expected to slow. For those investors holding Chinese stocks, what are your plans? Do you think stocks are over-valued or will continue to ride the momentum? Chime in.
Now I wonder if Denver-based companies get a boost from the Democratic National Convention….
August 25th, 2008
The current Firstrade.com website, love it or hate it, has been delivering quality execution, an abundance of tools, and exciting promotions for the past few years. Well, I think it’s time for an upgrade.
I’ve just been given permission to “leak” a bit of information here on the blog that something(s) new and exciting is(are) coming between now and the end of this year. The team is hard at work and we’re sure everyone will be happy with the results. Stay tuned.
August 19th, 2008
Hi the past few weeks, we’ve announced many exciting promotions, including:
- Refer-a-Friend - Our enhanced referral promotion rewards you with cash when your friends open and fund their Firstrade account.
- Wire Transfer Fee Rebate - Get a rebate of up to $25 for the fees charged by banks when you wire funds into your Firstrade account.
- Authentium SafeCentral - All Firstrade account users get a 1 year subscription to SafeCentral, a revolutionary secure trading browser that keeps intruders away from your secure session.
More are coming soon! We want to make sure that there’s always something fun and exciting going on at Firstrade.
August 8th, 2008
Do you feel safe when you use your computer? When you use online banking or enter your credit card number online, are you certain that the information won’t fall into the wrong hands? Firstrade has always taken a proactive role in protecting customers from online fraud, offering free Trend Micro Anti-Virus software to all of our customers. Earlier this year we also began testing SafeCentral secure browser with Authentium, I hope people were able to take the opportunity and test the beta program.
There are obvious trade-offs between convenience and security, but unfortunately the reality is that if we are not careful, there are malicious people looking to make money off our carelessness. Where do you stand, will you sacrifice convenience for peace of mind?
Let us know, we’re always looking for feedback, and creating new ways to protect you, the customer.
May 15th, 2008
Are the sub-prime issues behind us? Was Paulson’s plan to introduce more regulation on the lending market just what the we needed? Regardless of what people think of those questions, the market started Q2 of 2008 in a big way. The Dow was up 391.47, the NASDAQ up 83.65, and the S&P was up 47.48.
Companies such as Lehman Brothers, on the brink of a collapse in stock price just weeks ago, is now on a turnaround (at least in stock price). The Dollar was showing signs of stabilizing, good news all around it seems.
The first quarter was brutal, Dow down 7.6%, S&P 500 down almost 10% and the Nasdaq down over 14%. Does the April Fools day rally mean the beginning of a recovery? Chime in!
April 1st, 2008
Apple’s keynote yesterday certainly disappointed many investors, as the stock dropped continuously throughout the trading day. People are expecting quite a lot from Apple, though personally think the products are quite exciting and can’t wait to get my hands on them.
Can Firstrade claim to be the world’s first brokerage firm with a Webclip Icon? Add our website as an Webclip to your iPhone and this is what you get!
January 16th, 2008
A belated Merry Christmas to all our readers, hope there were gifts aplenty under the tree, and everyone did lots of shopping to keep the economy strong.
With that said, early numbers from the retail sector doesn’t seem that promising, and the housing market reported another major decline. Many major retailers are staging sales and extended operating hours to get shoppers into their stores. I’d love to provide first hand reports, but I’m working here, so unfortunately I have no idea how well the plans are working.
Many shoppers are also spending more money on gift cards this year. Gift giving people love its simplicity and convenience, retailers love gift cards because: 1. It gets you into stores to buy more stuff; 2. Some people forget to use it or leave a balance; 3. Some cards expire, meaning the retailer keeps the money for nothing! Shoppers are expected to flood major retailers in the next few weeks, armed with their gift cards, so another surge of shopping should be taking place right now, or just as soon as we get out of work.
December 26th, 2007
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