Barron's Recap: A Look Inside Schwab

This weekend in Barron's online: a look inside Charles Schwab, a contrarian way to play the energy slump, as well as the prospects for Amazon.com, Apple Pay and more.

Cover Story

"Inside Schwab" by Dyan Machan. CEO Walt Bettinger took up the reins at brokerage Charles Schwab Corp SCHW six years ago, at a time when the economy seemed to be headed off a cliff, says this week's cover story at Barron's. Yet, with Bettinger at the helm, client assets have doubled and the company's share price has tripled. The article suggests that he is only getting started. See why Barron's thinks Fidelity and Vanguard should watch out for what comes next at Schwab. The article offers a peak at how Schwab is structured now, as well as a review of its history, and how the brokerage stacks up against its competitors. The article also offers a detailed profile of Bettinger (down to his favorite book and his eating habits), and examines how and why he was brought on board by founder Charles Schwab. See also: Stocktoberfest Is Back And Bigger Than Ever

Feature Stories

"12 Ways to Play the Energy Slump" by Andrew Bary makes the case that with energy stocks having suffered due to the weakness in oil and natural gas prices, now some of those stocks look like bargains. See which ones may be cheap now. Jack Hough's "Don't Buy the Dip at Amazon" points out that investors are losing patience with the ongoing losses at Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN. It also does not help the giant online retailer's case that its revenue growth is slowing as well. In "Apple Pay Takes On Hackers, Cash," Alexander Eule takes a look at how Apple Inc.'s AAPL new Apple Pay has locked in the world's top payment networks, Visa and MasterCard, and what may come next for the digital payment platform. Hedge fund FrontFour Capital is the focus of "Snapping Up Oil Stocks" by Michael Shari. The article shows how the fund's managers have taken advantage of the recent selloff in energy stocks to stock up on some of them. See which energy stocks they liked. Check out Penta article "Knowing the Family History" for Robert Milburn's examination of how the private bankers at Abbot Downing compile family histories of clients. As the Zaslow family of ATD-American found out, the results can be enlightening. In Steve Garmhausen's "Changing the World: Doing Well by Doing Good," advisors Kristina Van Liew and Linda Stephans of Merrill Lynch's Private Banking and Investment Group offer their best advice for helping investors who want to leave their mark on society. CEO Michael Shaoul of Marketfield Asset Management is interviewed in Reshma Kapadia's "Marketfield's Shaoul Stays Ahead of the Crowd." See why Shaoul currently is upbeat on the U.S. economy, as well as what he has to say about industrial stocks. "The High Cost of Speaking Freely" is an editorial commentary by Thomas G. Donlan in which he discusses how not only is there big money at stake in political speech, but also in silencing it. See also: TD Ameritrade: Ebola, China And Market Tumble Shouldn't Affect Retirement Portfolios

Columns

Columns in this weekend's Barron's discuss:

• Stocks having the best week in almost two years
• What kind of a post-election rally to expect
• Congressional portfolios that could use an extreme makeover
• A forecast that stocks will rise 5 percent or more annually for the next three years
• The good earnings news out of Seagate and KLA-Tencor
• Opportunities in the likes of earlier-than-usual earnings calls and corporate spin-offs
• Mutual funds that invest in hedge funds
• How a sensible gold exchange traded fund (ETF) improves its chances for gains
• The past week's dividend and buyback announcements
• Apple Pay as the gadget of the week

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.