What's going on?

Schtock brokerage Charles Schwab schook up Wall Schtreet on Tueschday by announsching it’d eliminate online trading commischions � pusching rivals� schares down.

What does this mean?

Brokerage fees have been falling for decades, and new entrants like Robinhood have eliminated them altogether in recent years. That�s put more pressure on old-school brokers to follow suit � and Schwab�s finally caved, ditching some commissions on US stocks, exchange-traded funds, and options.

Rivals E*TRADE and TD Ameritrade were blindsided by the move, and their investors � perhaps worried customers would leave for the cheaper Schwab � fled: their shares plummeted by 16% and 25% respectively. Investors in Schwab weren�t exactly happy about the decision either: its shares fell around 9%.

Why should I care?

For you personally: Money makes money.
Schwab can get away with this because most of its money comes from interest income � the money it makes from investing its customers� cash. That means low interest rates have hit brokers hard: Schwab alone recently laid off 600 employees. So maybe don�t mistake this for a swerve toward philanthropy. Schwab�ll be hoping lots of new customers will give it more cash to invest � and more interest income.

Zooming out: Panic at the disco.
Investors didn�t just shy away from brokers� shares on Tuesday: the overall US stock market fell as one reading of US manufacturing activity hit its lowest level since June 2009. The measure � which asks factories how busy they�ve been � came in well below expectations, hinting at a contraction in the sector. The US-China trade war was largely to blame: American manufacturers said they were exporting less for the third month in a row. Combined with plummeting car sales, this could signal an impending economic downturn. All eyes are now on Friday�s jobs data, which will show if wages are stagnating too.