One month after brokerages, prompted by money-losing competitor Robinhood, dropped all transaction fees in hopes of gaining market share - a move which has yet to generate any material new users - this morning Fox Business reported that in a giant move amid discount online brokerages, Charles Schwab would buy TD Ameritrade for $26 billion. Both shares of TD Ameritrade and Schwab were sharply higher on the news, up 18% and 2.4% respectively, with other brokers up as well on the news (ETFC +2.5%, IBKR +2.1%).TD Ameritrade CEO Tim Hockey, who announced in July that he would leave by the end of February, acknowledged ... (full story)