21.   The news immediately drove down the share prices of companies like ETrade and Ameritrade, two of the pioneers in electronic brokerage.

22.   The pure electronic brokerage companies, those without branches, are in the meantime suffering.

23.   Trading activity has dropped sharply this year at low-price electronic brokerage firms like Etrade Group and Ameritrade Holdings.

24.   With the advent of electronic brokerages, it is much simpler to execute plain-vanilla trades, such as buying dollars for marks.

25.   Yet the electronic brokerages are spending money as if this market had unlimited potential.

26.   Although electronic brokerages successfully exploited market inefficiencies in the past, opportunities and profits have eroded as Nasdaq slowly modernized its own trading systems.

27.   Glocer said the group had completed its acquisition of Bridge, the North American equities information business, and floated a minority interest in Instinet, the electronic brokerage.

28.   He argued it is unrealistic for dozens of electronic brokerages to try to compete at a time when share prices are depressed and investors wary.

29.   Industry analysts say such consolidation is almost inevitable as electronic brokerages fight to survive an industry slump against intensified competition.

30.   Shares of Instinet surged Friday after the electronic brokerage offered stock to the public for the first time.