any opinions on etw, page-2

I would not touch the shares
E&T have a mountain of debt to pay down so I would not expect a divvy on the ord or pref shares for a long time.
I thought the market had it right when the shares were trading around 30c
I hold some convertable notes(ETWG).
They have an interest rate of 8.25% based on a face value of $1.00 and mature Oct 2007.
E&T are obliged by the terms to pay the interest or incur default which means paying out the notes at face value which would cost them $20mil.
So it's better for them to find $1.6mil per year to pay the interest and hopefully by Oct 2007 they will be in a position to redeem the notes.
It's a risky punt, but at 70c, the notes are paying 12%