Goldman Plus Schwab Rumors
From CNNfn
Is Goldman Sachs looking to merge with Charles Schwab? That's the word in the market that caused a 10 percent plus jump in Schwab shares on Friday. The reports emerged in BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column. Like most gossip, the magazine quoted unnamed sources and said that no deal is imminent. It added that neither side has "ruled out" a merger and that the companies have held periodic discussions about combining their operations.

Merrill and HSBC?
From Financial Times
The decision of HSBC and Merrill Lynch to come together as business partners highlights weaknesses in the business model of both companies, according to this article. It adds that Merrill may soon find that while "not capital-constrained," its "limited market capitalization may, sooner or later, restrict its strategic options." The article also points out that "if HSBC still harbors any lingering investment banking ambitions in the US, the target list is now short."

T. Rowe Files for Tax-Efficient Fund
From Detroit News
T. Rowe Price has filed paperwork to open a no-load tax-efficient growth fund. The new fund will be called the T. Rowe Price Tax-Efficient Multi-Cap Growth Fund and will use the Russell Mid-Cap Growth Index as a benchmark. Donald J. Peters, manager of the large-cap focused T. Rowe Price Tax-Efficient Growth Fund, will manage the fund fund.

The Web Opens Closed Funds
From TheStreet.com
The Web is providing a way into closed funds for some investors. Though not being conducted on a scale that should worry fund executives, some shareholders are resorting to Web chatrooms and message boards to buy, sell and swap shares in funds that are no longer open to new investors. Once these investors have their initial share they are often free to add to their holdings. "I'd like to add this fund to my IRA but it is closed to new investors. Does anyone have a share (or more) that they wouldn't mind selling to me," said one poster. "Does anyone know how to get into a closed Vanguard fund by transferring ownership of one share? I am looking to get into Cap Opp. I have Primecap or Weitz Hickory to swap. Thanks," wrote another.

401k Participants Learn Arbitrage
From Wall Street Journal
Can mutual funds benefit from the presidential election? MaxFunds' Jonas Ferris has created stock indices to invest in the corporate contributors to Republicans and Democrats (neither index as the basis if a fund's investments). It seems that the stocks of companies giving to the candidate surging in the polls surge as well. Both candidate indices have topped the S&P 500 since their creation on August 1. The Gore index is up 2.6 percent, while the Bush index rose 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 is up just 0.8 percent. 

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