Ask most investors about E*Trade and you’ll get a mouthful about why the company is a toxic asset to be avoided at all costs.

Is the U.S. stock market rally for real? Or have stock prices gotten a little ahead of themselves?  After more than eight weeks in rally mode, it certainly appears that stock prices are outpacing economic reality.

Credit Crisis Claims $1 Trillion; Dollar Falls Hard; Gold and Silver Rally; Honda Slashes Profit Outlook; Motorola Cuts Costs; Valeo Cuts 5,000 Jobs; Woolworths Closing Its 807 Stores in Jan.; E-Trade Growing and Shrinking