Not to mention that, if you are with Scottrade, they eliminated internet trading in FRE and FNM last week as I found out when trying to buy FRE at $4.30 only to see it double while I continually got a busy signal calling the local Scottrade office!!!
quit trying to play with the big boys...only institutions can trade 24 hours...peon!!!
As for Freddie and Co...consider this:
The first 20% on any mortgage is covered either by the borrower or by Mortgage Insurance (which isn’t being bailed out) or a combination thereof.
Mortgages are front loaded interest-wise, so a $100,000 mortgage would be paid around $20,000 in interest (to the bank / investor in the first two years)
This leaves between $60 and $80k for the banker to make up on the market in the event they take control of the given property at $100k.
Selling at 65 cents on the dollar leaves at least a break even for the banks...they are asking that they take no loss whatsoever in the event they have to sell at 50 cents on the dollar (as in Florida condos and California).
What this all means is that even if there is no bail out whatsoever, Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac will emerge with a 5%-10% profit loss over the long run, which is much less then the doom and gloom on the news.
The only thing I know about the market tomorrow is that it will over react in either direction depending on the news, so look for a buying opportunity for the long term.
This is the same situation as when Martha Stuart was indicted, yet still held a viable company...only this time the company has the backing of the US Government under any circumstances.
OMG, I had enough bad experiences with them...from 1999...I ultimately had to drive to a local office to place a trade and lost about $800 doing so. Meanwhile, the broker in the lobby told me “hey it’s only opportunity cost”. Grrrr! I am glad I was able to restrain myself in their lobby.
In fast markets, even now, they don’t seem to be able to keep up. They also do not permit options spreads of ANY kind, no matter how well capitalized you are. They only permit “level 1” options = covered calls + long calls or puts. Had to leave!