Scottrade Hacked

A user on FatWallet Forums reports that online broker Scottrade has revealed why it is currently no longer offering eCheck ACH money transfers - they've been hacked! Here an excerpt:

They lost all our information including the following:

name, drivers license, date of birth, phone number, bank name, bank code, bank number, bank routing number, bank account number and if you used your Social Security number instead of a DL#, that is now stolen too! The hackers got the motherlode.

Related new article: TROY Group Inc. Reports a Compromise of Its e-Check Servers

Not cool. I hope that Ameritrade I-Zone, my discount broker, uses the same level of security as the parent broker Ameritrade.

MB Trading

I recently found out about MB Trading from a thread at FWF. They offer stock trades at only $1 for trades under 500 shares, and only 0.5cents per share over that. A buck a trade!

Also, they have $1 options contract, no minimum trade requirements, and no monthly fees. You need $2,000 to open an account, but there are no minimum balance requirements after that. This seems almost too good to be true. I feel that if I join, soon they'll raise at least some of their prices. Still, gonna keep an eye on these guys. I'm currently at Ameritrade I-Zone (formerly FreeTrade), with $5 trades.

New Template, New Focus

I am refocusing this blog to talk about stock transactions - specifically taking advantage of certain undervalued sectors or going-private transactions.