In the real world I live in, 9E has made money every quarter for some time. They are not getting hit by the economy like the majors are, they are still getting paid the same amount as before. The economy being in a downturn only counts if your company is hurting, and ours isn't.

9E's biggest problem is the fact that thier managers seem to have thier heads up thier collective arses and want to throw a ton of cash into auction rate securities. Why should I be punished for thier poor judgement? Part of me thinks they wanted to make that money inaccessable to keep it from being on the negotiating table... I wouldn't put it past them.