| TD Ameritrade 1Q profit up 65 percent
OMAHA, Neb. - A surge in stock trading last fall helped online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. generate a 65 percent increase in its quarterly net income. The Omaha-based company said Thursday that asset-based revenue also continued to grow and accounted for more than half of its revenue in the October-December period. But some analysts questioned whether Ameritrade could replicate its results, and the company's stock suffered as concerns about the ongoing credit crisis hurt stock prices across the market. Ameritrade's shares fell $1.65, or 8.7 percent, to $17.34 Thursday. Ameritrade reported $240.8 million in net income, or 40 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Dec. 31. That was up from $145.6 million, or 24 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Overstock.com (OSTK) Announces $20M Stock Buyback
Overstock.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: OSTK) today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a $20 million two-year repurchase program which will allow Overstock.com to buyback shares of its common stock and/or its Convertible Senior Notes. The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions or otherwise, subject to market conditions and other factors, including blackout periods imposed by Overstock.com, during which the Company prohibits its insiders and employees from trading in the Company's stock. Overstock.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer that offer discount brand name merchandise for sale primarily over the Internet. Related Categories Stock Buybacks Stocks Mentioned .
Akamai shares rise on analyst's report
Shares of Akamai Technologies Inc. rose today after a Pacific Crest analyst said Akamai is delivering content for Apple Inc.'s new online movie rental service. Shares of Cambridge-based Akamai, which provides services and technologies for distribution and storage of digital media, added $1.05, or 4.1 percent, to $26.93 in midday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In the past year, the stock has traded between $25.13 and $59.69. In a client note, Pacific Crest analyst Chad Bartley said that Akamai had refuted rumors that it lost business from Apple, but worries continued that the company might not provide delivery for future iTunes services. But an analysis of network traffic data gleaned from renting a movie from Apple's new iTunes movie rental service showed Akamai is in fact delivering content for it, he said.
TMB ties up with broking firm
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has entered into a partnership with Religare Enterprises Ltd, a stock broking firm and part of Ranbaxy group, to provide a range of financial services to its customers including online trading of securities. As part of its ongoing efforts to expand its partners in bancinvest channel, Religare would leverage its tie-up with TMB to penetrate into tier-II and III towns in Tamilnadu where the equity cult was yet to make an impact, said S Amarnath, regional head, Religare Enterprises. Moreover, the broking firm would have trained staff to work closely with the bank to provide the support required for servicing customers. The company offered a range of financial services including trading in equities, commodities, insurance broking, wealth advisory and portfolio management services to high net-worth individuals and NRIs.
Betfair scores 100 per cent uptime Down Under
When UK-based online trading site Betfair was granted a licence to operate in Australia this January, it built a new data centre and flew the entire set-up from the UK to Tasmania on two chartered aeroplanes. In the first three weeks of going live, the company has achieved 100 per cent uptime. Betfair is an online trading exchange and according to the company's director of infrastructure Paul Moss, the challenges of keeping such a system available are similar to - and sometimes more demanding than - a stock exchange. Moss said: "The site always has to be available. Unlike the stock exchange, which shuts down at 17:00 for storage upgrades and firmware upgrades, Betfair can't stop. It is just like a stock exchange but 24/7. .
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