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Non-Tech : E*Trade (NYSE:ET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mod who wrote (5213)	2/16/1999 9:50:00 PM
From: Tom Hua	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 13953

I doubt very many people are moving their accounts. And I doubt many people are opening new accounts with ETrade.

To: mod who wrote (5213)	2/16/1999 11:31:00 PM
From: Oeconomicus	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 13953

AOL 2 years ago? Are you serious? Two key things contributed to the growth of AOL and its stock over this time - explosive growth of internet users and explosive demand for internet related stocks resulting in a massive expansion of the valuation metrics applied to internet stocks (in AOL's case, per subscriber values). Do you think that the brokerage business over the next few years will grow at anywhere close to the rate of the internet over the last few? Do you expect that the already expanded valuation metrics will continue to expand at the same pace (if an ISP that two years ago was valued at $300 per sub is now worth $1200 per sub, will it be worth $4800 per sub two years hence?)? Not that those metrics apply here anyway (even assuming they make sense for AOL). As much as all the marketeers running EGRP would like to convince you it is a technology company (or a media company or whatever the market likes that week), it is still a financial services company. Trading volume and new account applications will still rise and fall with the market. Capital will still be required to generate revenues. And it should be valued as a fast growing broker, not as some explosive growth technology company. BTW, when I speak of poor customer service, I am not just referring to the outages of two weeks ago. When everything is working, the hold times are still excessive and they still have too many arrogant and condescending reps. JMO, of course.