E*Trade Closing Wholesale Unit, Taking Hits

E*Trade Financial Corp., Menlo Park, Calif., said Tuesday that it will close its wholesale residential unit and take a $245 million charge against earnings in the second half because of bad home equity loans and what it calls a "deterioration in the mortgage market."The company also said it may take a $100 million hit because of impairments on its second-lien, asset-backed security, and collateralized debt obligation holdings. The New York-based E*Trade will focus on residential lending through its retail outlets only. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.etrade.com.