except for the fact of this:
"And mark this date: November 15: According to accounting rules, says Sean Egan, of Egan Jones, that’s when E-Trade must mark its mortgage portfolio to market not a computer model. "
and
"After the market close on Tuesday, E*Trade Chief Executive Mitch Caplan canceled a scheduled presentation on Wednesday at a Merrill Lynch banking conference in New York.
E*Trade spokeswoman Pam Erickson did not provide a reason for the cancellation, but said Caplan was focusing on "priorities." Following that news, E*Trade company's shares rose 4 percent to $5.20 in electronic trade.
"Usually when CEOs cancel these appearances it means that something corporate-related is up," said Patrick O'Shaughnessy, an analyst with Morningstar. "And certainly there are a lot of rumors out there that E*Trade could get bought out."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/21777486
gogogogogo buyout/bankruptcy or no mortgage asset writedowns