Things are looking good for E*Trade, according to Standard & Poor's anyway. The measure of success for any discount brokerage is how fast they are diversifying their revenue stream. E*Trade reports that commission-based revenues have been declining as a percent over the past few years. How much of this is mortgage related is unknown. It may be that what we're seeing is the maturation of the discount industry, via organic growth and acquisition. The big three seem to be well-positioned--a rising market helps. The little guys are basically still considered buyout targets, but we've yet to see that killer app that people have been waiting for.

For more on E*Trade:
- here's an S&P report