ZenInvestor

XM / Sirius Under Selling Pressure

With all due respect, why publish a 'rehash' with no commentary. This article is useless. Someone's ego is out of control.

S&P Upgrades E*Trade Despite Struggling Financial Sector Peers

This is of course good news to long investors, but it should also sound a warning to the shorts. I agree that losses should be close to ending, and if they have success in swapping debt for equity it could happen much faster and provide stronger results in future quarters, since the service on the debt is a major drag on earnings right now.

This company has been 'beat down' for too long now, and is indeed ready for a 'magic moment'.

E*Trade's 'First In, First Out' Position: Yes, 111M Shorts Can Be Wrong

Yep, quite an accurate recap. Nice job!

As to the point that E*Trade will not exist in its current form, that is irrelevant to me as an investor. I think it is more than possible that they will, that it is indeed 'probable'. What is important to me is that the stock is clearly undervalued at the current share price, and not by a little. So if it is sold to a competitor, taken private, or sold to a foreign bank means little to me, but it is clear that any of these options will yield a strong gain for any investor over the $4 range we sit in currently. If they remain independent, as they are, then the stock will rise to fair value over the next six to twelve months.

In two more quarters the state of the mortgage portfolio at E*Trade will be very clear, but as I view it now they are adequately reserved, regulated by the FDIC (unlike investment banks), and the brokerage business continues to grow and generate cash. I am not the slightest bit worried.

In addition, it is my daily trading platform, and in that regard they are clearly head and shoulders over the competition. I can't wait to load their new mobile platform on my BlackBerry!

Thanks Cindy for another round up of the facts, and don't worry folks, investors in E*Trade all know the checkered history and have factored in the 'risks'. Also, to be sure the 'shorts' have made out well in the last year on their strategy, and trading this stock in the last six months has made me money already. That said I am long and quite comfortable now, for many of the reasons stated in this article.

Citadel Infuses E*Trade with Strong, Experienced Management

uarenaive, what a cute name, your inexperience is showing. Please site a time that Citadel has taken a stock position and 'lost money' on that position. You can't can you? They are a 'hedge fund', so of course they cover their bets, but they don't put billions down for no gain do they? The biggest gain is in stock price appreciation, and IF they did swap debt for equity it would reduce ETFC's operating expense dramatically, push it into almost immediate profitability, and kick up the value of the shares. Now tell me, if the share price goes up who benefits besides Citadel? That would be all of us who hold the shares, for which I would thank Citadel and KG profusely.

You can read the 'call reports' on Etrade Bank at: fdic.gov, and get a feel for the actual performance of their held portfolio. It is performing and well reserved. Also, we don't know how the portfolio that Citadel bought for 27 cents on the dollar is performing, but my 'guess' is that it is throwing off a ton of cash right now. Citadel's interests and mine, as a shareholder are pretty well aligned right now, and rather then 'fearing' their actions I am cheering them on!

Another nice article Cindy!

Who Will Trigger E*Trade's Magic Moment - and a 111.4M Short Squeeze?

Yes, there will be plenty of 'fresh' faces when ETFC proves the turn around is well established. I can't see the $4.00 price holding too much longer, and their platform, as well as their over 4MM accounts makes this company an enticing target.

Why Mark to Market Accounting Sucks

You are stating the obvious to anyone who understands financial accounting, but many investors (and a lot more analysts then you would expect) just don't get it. The 'billions' being thrown around as 'losses' are really still there in the company, for the most part, and often the 'real' losses are covered by already existing reserves.

When the credit markets ease and the 'discounts' come to an end, then all of a sudden we will see 'record' earnings by some of the very same stocks posting record losses late last year and in the first two quarters of this year. What a joke!

Although I agree it is a mess, there needs to be some thought given to what replaces mark to market so that past abuses it was intended to correct are not repeated. That said, what we have now is contributing to investor confusion and significantly hitting our economy in general. This is one case of unintended consequences that needs to be remedied, along with reforms to keep derivatives 'honest' in the future, if we are to keep from repeating this mess in the future.

Seeking E*Trade's 'Magic Moment'

Well, Yahoo Finance is the playground of the insane, so Cindy you might want to just stay here. I have tried the public 'discussion' boards too, but the flood of wannabee investors who own less than 500 shares of anything just turns any post into a pointless argument.

Good article, and jbmaria you added little but vitriol in your posts. Might want to stick to something you have some knowledge of, but you are not adding a lot of information. On second thought, stick with Yahoo Finance, that seems to suit you.

Seeking E*Trade's 'Magic Moment'

ETFC will make the leap quickly. Sooner or later the distance from the past management teams errors when combined with their steady progress will catch the attention of the analysts. Analysts are always late anyway, but their tardiness has allowed some of us to accumulate ETFC at bargain prices. I am Long and happy as a clam!

E*Trade: What the Analysts and News Haven't Told You

Yep, right on target. All this hysteria about the 'authorized stock' and the Citadel registration is just that, and recent DARTS, and the continued account acquisition by ETFC makes this a good buy.

The new management team seems to have addressed every outstanding issue, and is making progress on all fronts. Every new executive or director has been an 'upgrade' to the person who left, and a 'plan' appears to emerging to reward the shareholders.

Great article!

Resource America Unfairly Punished by the Credit Crunch

Amen! Lead has been unaffected, and yet REXI has been punished. A timely analysis. Thanks!

How To Structure a Yahoo-Google Search Deal

With all due respect, if the deal you describe is not a violation of law, then then the law is worthless! This is not a serious article. Nuff said!

E*Trade Primed for a Breakout

If you read my comment above you might know why doubling the shares is a 'good' thing. Just a thought.

E*Trade Primed for a Breakout

The shares are 'authorized' but not 'issued' so there is no dilution at the moment. The stated intention, besides the obvious stock options, etc., in the normal course of business is to 'swap' debt for equity at a discount. They intend to retire 700MM in debt in this fashion. That will reduce their interest expense and speed the return to profitability. They are also selling for cash some 500MM in subsidiaries that no longer fit the long term strategy. If you combine those two events you should have minimal dilutive effect on the stock, AND profits with a more stable balance sheet. All and all, the words and deeds from ETFC have been 'shareholder friendly'.

E*Trade Primed for a Breakout

Shorts beware! This strong platform, with management's newly authorized stock has the ability to swap debt for equity at a discount and with that reduction in interest expense will be profitable in Q3 if not in Q2. They continue to add accounts and have the best platform in the business (I am a customer). Breakout is long overdue and not much sense in thinking this is not a $6 stock and soon!

E*Trade's Annual Shareholder Meeting Should Pressure the Shorts

EXACTLY! I can't find a downside with this stock that is not fully priced into the share price, but the pressure on the stock continues. The Annual meeting will set the stage for positive announcements, including the April DART's, and depository growth on the bank side. No reason to run from ETFC now!