In Brief: PaineWebber: It Won't Try Discounting

Outlining its on-line trading plans to the press Thursday, PaineWebber Group Inc. said it would not try to be a discount brokerage.

The statement that the group would proceed as planned in the on-line arena came on the heels of Merrill Lynch and Co.'s announcement Tuesday that it would offer discount brokerage services charging $29.95 per trade. That news sent brokerage stocks plummeting on fears that profits would fall.

On-line brokerage is "not going to be the centerpiece that we go to our affluent clients with," said Mark B. Sutton, the president of PaineWebber's private client group. PaineWebber has yet to disclose how much the firm will charge.

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