Ticker Talk

Charles Schwab Corp., which wants to expand customer access to initial public offerings, can use the Internet to transmit companies’ IPO presentations to individual investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission held. The SEC ruling, in a “no-action” letter to Schwab, is likely to open up many companies’ pre-IPO promotional presentations, called roadshows, that typically are restricted to analysts and big investors, experts said. . . . Wireless rocket Qualcomm Inc. (ticker: QCOM; close and change: $363.25, down $4.75) was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” by an analyst at Edward Jones. . . . Los Angeles-based brokerage Jefferies Group said its main unit, Jefferies & Co., has taken a 25% stake in Automated Trading Systems, which runs an electronic bond trading system called Limitrader.com. Jefferies said it will use Automated’s system to execute its customers’ bond trades. Jefferies did not disclose how much it paid for its stake.