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Pastimes : ETRADE Sucks! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RickT who wrote (2288)	4/23/1999 4:56:00 PM
From: RickT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3262

Can someone take a moment to answer a question that ETrade appears unable or unwilling to answer? Concerning short sales: ETrade's web pages talk about 50% initial margin requirements on short sales and 30% and 40% maintenance requirements depending upon where you look. They also say that "You must pay for at least 50 percent of the value of the securities sold short", which doesn't make much sense. I sold short 1500 shares of a $6 stock. My account now shows $16333 in "Margin". I believe this is "positive" in my margin. Why is there way more than 30% apparently being held? And why is my free credit balance much higher than my cash buying power? (ETrade's answer to these questions: "We are not holding $16000 dollars". When I asked them to look again, they said: "The most recent reply you received answers your question very directly") Using the following example, could someone help me figure out what's going on? Thanks, Rick === I sell short 1000 shares XYZ at $6 How much, if any money do I need at the sale? Where must this money be - Margin, cash? How much do I need to maintain the short sale? Again, Margin, cash? Where does the $6000 from the sale go? What, if any, interest do I pay (on what amount)? What if any interest do I earn? (like on the $6000 that I apparently can't use, but since it shows up as free credit balance, it sounds like I could cash it out?)