Ben Williams

The Current Market Atmosphere: Easy Money Hard to Come by

Remove yourself from the noise is the best advice from this article. Don't follow the media hype and read all these posts with a grain of salt as EVERYONE has their own agenda they are pusing one way or another. Nothing is usually ever as good or as bad as the media and/or pundits would have you believe. Stick to your time proven principals and disciplines and you will survive the financial crisis now as well. The market will recover, just a matter of when, and that truly is something no one can predict with real certainty. If they claim they can, they are probably getting inside information and breaking the law, so don't believe all you hear and read. Keep piling up your cash during this downtime and do your homework to buy the few stocks out there that are bargains and not just junk disguised as a bargain and you will be fine when the market decides to roll again. Bottom line, know your risks, know your timeframes, keep saving money and keep investing also, just be selective and use your own brain at the end of the day.

Metrics, Mortgages and Analysts

Well, Jimmy46, apparently a number of people want E-Trade over Scottrade based on the numbers. I am not "pumping" any stock. Please read all my posts as they are all consistent; I make full disclosure of my positions and am FULLY aware of the risk in ETFC.

Having said that, I am not caugt up in the pinheads who want to rain on E-trades parade where they HAVE shown improvement, HAVE improved their capital position and have increased business. People presenting the numbers can lie, but the numbers don't. E-trade is moving in the right direction and you can post back here a year from now and see who is right and who is not. Hear me now, believe me later.

Metrics, Mortgages and Analysts

Wez, No one here is saying E-trade is immune to what is happening to the financials. In fact, we are actually supporting that cause. That is why the stock is down so much. However, CEO Layton and E-Trade have minimized their risk with the mortgages by getting rid of the majority of bad loans and have disclosed the bad loans they do have. He has done an awesome job of selling of what needed to be sold, going back to its core business, and raising capital to ensure they have the funds to cover any losses that still might occur. A look at ETFC's financials might be in store for you to see that have over a billion, thats right, BILLION dollars, sitting on the books. Obviously you are not here to add any insight, good or bad, but to make some moronic statement that serves no real purpose.

Metrics, Mortgages and Analysts

Excellent post Cindy. Thanks for your insight and just for summarizing the news about E-trade from other sources as well. I know the usual cast of characters will come in and try to debunk and trash this stock as usual, but the numbers continue to get better and the stock is poising itself for a run up when the market itself recovers somewhat. I believe E-Trade is the baby being thrown out with the bathwater in the financial sector as it is being driven down with the others who have much larger exposure to these bad loans and have not really owned up to their problems like E-Trade has done. Next month's numbers and the continued addition to the E-Trade accounts month after month should squash some of the fear and the market will begin to warm up to this stock once again. The shorts are starting to take notice and I would not be surprised to see some of those positons begin to dwindle somewhat in the coming months. For full disclosure, I am long ETFC both in equity and options. I have added more positions the past two days as the price has dropped with the market.