21.   Rudman was recommended by the SEC, which is investigating the NASD for alleged laxity toward large brokerage firms.

22.   Some large brokerage houses also offer customers the possibility of unloading CDs prior to maturity without incurring the early-withdrawal penalty that banks assess.

23.   Since large brokerage houses have nationwide operations, customers in Los Angeles get the same yield as people in New York.

24.   Still, trading or processing delays were experienced by the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market, several large brokerages, and vendors.

25.   The court dismissed a lawsuit brought by investors who accused several large brokerage firms of failing to disclose properly the fees levied by some of their money market funds.

26.   The large brokerages already pay for real-time information that they pass on to clients free of charge.

27.   The merger will result in the elimination of Friedman Realty Group, one of the last large independent commercial brokerage firms in the city.

28.   The industry body is close to a settlement of planned SEC charges for alleged laxity toward large brokerage firms.

29.   The NASD, which polices brokers and runs the Nasdaq Stock Market, is under investigation for alleged laxity in enforcing rules against large brokerage firms.

30.   The NASD has been under SEC investigation for the last year and a half on allegations of lax supervision of large brokerage firms.