Stocks Crushed Again; TD Ameritrade Eliminates Trade Commissions

 

NEW YORK - Stocks tumbled again on Wednesday as worries about a weakening global economy boomeranged around the world.

For a second straight day, the S&P 500 dropped to its worst loss in five weeks. The latest wave of selling came after a report showed hiring by U.S. companies slowed more than economists expected last month, with mining and manufacturing particularly weak. It added to worries that shook markets a day earlier, when a reading on U.S. manufacturing showed the sharpest contraction in a decade.

The reports underscored that President Donald Trump’s trade war with China is continuing to drag on exports and raised the worry that the weakness could spill over into other areas of the economy. The concerns sent markets around the world reeling, with losses sweeping from the United States on Tuesday into Asia and through Europe on Wednesday.

Adding to the market’s uncertainty was a ruling by the World Trade Organization that cleared the United States to impose tariffs on up to $7.5 billion of goods from the European Union to make up for illegal subsidies given to plane-maker Airbus. The Trump administration said it would begin them on Oct. 18.

Even investors who are optimistic that the U.S. economy isn’t facing an imminent recession were struck by Tuesday’s surprisingly weak manufacturing report.

“Manufacturing, that data point does give me further pause,” said Adrian Helfert, director of multi-asset portfolios at Westwood.

TD Ameritrade joins the fee war

OMAHA, Neb. - TD Ameritrade is also eliminating commissions for online trading of U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds in the latest round of an industry battle over fees.

Investors will benefit from lower costs after the moves announced Tuesday by TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab . But TD Ameritrade estimates it will lose about 15 percent of its revenue - roughly $220 million to $240 million - per quarter in the process.

TD Ameritrade said it will drop its commissions to zero from $6.95 on Thursday - four days ahead of Schwab - for online trading of stocks and exchange-traded funds listed in the U.S. and Canada.

TD Ameritrade's stock fell 25.8 percent Tuesday after Schwab's announcement.

The industry has been cutting investment fees for years, as customers demand lower expenses.

Suit: Biggest rail carriers fixed prices

BOISE, Idaho - More than two dozen major companies ranging from Campbell Soup to Kia are suing the nation’s four biggest railway companies, contending the railroads had a price-fixing scheme to illegally boost profits.

In the lawsuits filed around the U.S. on Monday, the companies say BNSF Railway Company, CSX Transportation Inc., Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad Co. conspired together to boost prices starting in 2003 by charging fuel surcharges.

The price-fixing allegations have been wending their way through the federal courts for years, and in August a federal judge denied a request for class-action status on behalf of 16,000 shippers, saying the cases would have to be brought individually or broken down into similar situations. The deadline for filing those individual cases was Monday.

Attorneys for the railway companies declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

South Carolina is served by CSX and Norfolk Southern.

Survey: US firms added 135K jobs

WASHINGTON - U.S. companies added a modest 135,000 jobs in September, a private survey found, a sign that hiring is slowing as the trade war takes a toll on the economy and employers grow cautious.

Payroll processor ADP says hiring has particularly slowed in mining, which actually cut 3,000 jobs, and manufacturing, which added just 2,000.

Job gains at last month's pace are enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising. And there are few signs of widespread layoffs. But the demand for labor, which pushed average monthly hiring above 200,000 last year, has waned this year.

The ADP's figures don't include government hiring and frequently diverge from the government's official report, which is scheduled to be released Friday. Economists expect that report will show 140,000 jobs were added.

Google is offering more privacy tools

SAN FRANCISCO - Google is rolling out more tools for users to control their privacy settings.

The company and other tech giants are facing increased scrutiny over the amount of data they collect from their users. Google and Facebook both debuted new privacy tools this year.

Now, YouTube users will be able to set their search and viewing histories to auto-delete after a set period of time.

Google Maps will have an incognito mode, which means a user's movements won't be recorded when it's turned on. It will be available on Android this month. Google did not give an exact date for iOS.

Google also says people will be able to delete their voice histories from artificial intelligence system Assistant using a voice command.

It is also adding a way for users to check their passwords via a password manager to make sure they are still secure.

Ala. lands new auto parts plant

AUBURN, Ala. - An auto parts manufacturer says it’s building a new plant in Alabama.

Gov. Kay Ivey said South Korean company Shinhwa Group is investing $42 million in a facility and will create 95 jobs in Auburn, the company’s first U.S. manufacturing site. Construction is already underway. The first phase is expected to be finished by the summer.

Shinhwa will initially make drive shafts for vehicles built by Hyundai Motor's plant in Montgomery as well as for Kia Motor’s plant, just across the state line in West Point, Ga.

Alabama Department of Commerce chief Greg Canfield says the company is a “welcome addition” to the state’s network of “high-caliber auto suppliers.”