We have millions of these customers who are reasonably demanding of services, which we're pleased to provide but which have to be paid for, ... Customers have the opportunity to justify their service levels by adding to their account.

[He picked up the phone and began to make calls, aware that his firing would ripple far beyond his desk. Pottruck's assistant of 15 years, Colleen Bagan-McGill, was driving through San Francisco with her husband and kids at the start of a long-awaited vacation when her cell phone rang.] How are you doing, honey? ... I need to tell you something. I got fired this morning.

While our clients' trading activity had increased in early September ? daily average revenue trades were 136,000 for the first five trading days of the month ? last week's terrorist attacks and their aftermath have added fresh uncertainty to the market environment,

With a slowing economy and weakening corporate earnings, our clients are facing the most challenging market environment in many years.

Our continued leadership in online investing is reflected in the growing number of customers using these services at Schwab,

Recent trading volumes are propelling the company to its best quarter ever in terms of revenues and profits.