Wall Street Access Launches New Online Trading Platform

May 14, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Brokerage firm Wall Street Access introduced a new online trading platform, called AccessPoint, for sophisticated traders.

With AccessPoint, customers will be able to:

  • enter complex option trades such as spreads, buy-writes, married puts, straddles, butterfly spreads, box spreads and ratio spreads;
  • view intraday cash balances;
  • access institutional quality market data;
  • access research from Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown;
  • use one log in name for all of their Wall Street Access accounts.

The system links directly to Wall Street Access’s trading desk. When a complex order is entered online, the firm’s traders personally work the trade in order to get the best possible execution price.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

In addition, AccessPoint users can download their brokerage account information into MSN MoneyCentral, Microsoft’s online personal finance service, Microsoft Money personal finance software, and Intuit’s Quicken personal finance software.

World Markets Stumble into 2002

February 4, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - World markets disappointed just about everyone in January.

The FTSE All World index fell by nearly 3% in US dollar terms, investors remaining concerned about corporate profits in the wake of the Enron debacle, and central banks’ decision to hold interest rates steady.

According to the index provider, the month’s worst performer was Argentina, which, after teetering on the brink of defaulting on its debt and eventually abandoning its currency peg, fell 27% in dollar terms.
 
At the other extreme, Pakistan was up 32%, boosted by lower interest rates, a stronger currency and supportive comments from the International Monetary fund. Indonesia increased by almost 24% on a more positive political outlook.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

Also in Asia, the Philippines’ market was up by 19% and Thailand by 18% buoyed by investors’ expectations that an export driven recovery is underway.

By sector, the world’s mining industry performed best, followed by tobacco stocks, resilient, thanks to its market’s inelastic demand, and aerospace and defense, boosted by the US’s current foreign policy.

Diversified Industrials lost 10.6% over the month, making it the worst performing industry sector, followed by the ever-volatile telecommunications sector, which lost 9.78%, as risk-appetite declined.

The month’s worst-performing stocks were Global Crossing and K-mart, which lost 100% and 72.71% following their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings. UK telecom group Energis was the third worst performer, losing 69.84%.

«