Nov 21, 2019

Charles Schwab in talks to buy TD Ameritrade

Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Charles Schwab is in talks to buy TD Ameritrade, according to multiple media reports this morning.

Why it matters: This would create a discount brokerage behemoth with over $5 trillion in assets under management.

The combined company would be just behind BlackRock ($6.9 trillion) and Vanguard ($5.6 trillion). Schwab already was in third place with $3.85 trillion but adding TD Ameritrade closes the gap quite a bit.

Market reax: TD Ameritrade stock jumped around 25% in early trading, giving it a $22.4 billion market cap, while Schwab moved mildly higher.

The big picture: Both Schwab and TD Ameritrade recently killed their online trading commissions, in an effort to blunt the rise of Robinhood, which this past summer was valued at $7.6 billion by venture capitalists.

Neither company is commenting, although both CNBC and Fox Business report that an official announcement could come as early as today.

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 14 mins ago - World

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested under national security law

Media tycoon Jimmy Lai at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in June. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been arrested for "collusion with foreign powers" and the offices of his newspaper raided, said Mark Simon, an executive at the tycoon's media firm Next Digital on Monday.

Why it matters: He was arrested under the new national security law that gives Beijing more powers over the former British colony. Lai is the most prominent person arrested under the law — which prompted the U.S. to sanction Chinese officials, including Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, over Beijing's efforts to strip the territory of its autonomy.

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Axios

Updated 23 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 a.m. ET: 19,861,683 — Total deaths: 731,326 — Total recoveries — 12,115,825 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 a.m. ET: 5,044,864 — Total deaths: 162,938 — Total recoveries: 1,656,864 — Total tests: 61,792,571 — Map.
Politics: Pelosi says states don't have the funds to comply with Trump's executive order on unemployment — Mnuchin says Trump executive orders were cleared by Justice Department.
States: New York reports lowest rate of positive coronavirus test results since pandemic began
Public health: Ex-FDA head: U.S. will "definitely" see 200,000 to 300,000 virus deaths by end of 2020.
Schools: 97,000 children test positive for coronavirus in two weeks — Nine test positive at Georgia school where photo showing packed hallway went viral .

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Rebecca Falconer

2 hours ago - Health

97,000 children test positive for coronavirus in two weeks

A boy has his temperature checked as he receives a free COVID-19 test in South Los Angeles in July. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

At least 97,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 in the final two weeks of July and there's been an estimated 338,000 cases involving kids in the U.S. since the pandemic began, a new report finds.

Why it matters: The findings in the report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association comes as schools and day cares look to reopen in the U.S., with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announcing Friday that school districts in the state can reopen in the fall amid lower coronavirus transmission rates.