PEABODY ENERGY (BTU) WASHINGTON MUTUAL (WM)

I took profits in Peabody Energy (BTU) today and sold at $44.98 for a 10 percent profit in 6 months.
I used that money to buy Washington Mutual (WM) at $39.01. WM pays a 5.4 percent dividend and is down near it's 52 week low because of the sub-prime loans. The exposure to sub-prime loans is a very small percentage of Washington Mutuals business and I feel it's gotten beat up a little too much and will reinvest my dividends while I wait for it to go up.

Washington Mutual, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer and small business banking company in the United States. It operates in four segments: Retail Banking, Card Services, Commercial, and Home Loans. The Retail Banking segment offers deposit and other retail banking products and services, which include checking and interest-bearing checking accounts, personal checking, savings, money market deposit, and time deposit accounts to consumers and small businesses; loan products comprising home loans, home equity loans, lines of credit, and mortgage loans; and investment advisory and brokerage services. The Card Services segment�s operations consist of issuing credit cards, holding outstanding balances on credit cards in portfolio or securitizing and selling them, servicing credit card accounts, and providing other cardholder services. The Commercial segment provides finance to developers and investors for multi-family dwellings and other commercial properties, services multi-family and other commercial real estate loans, and provides limited deposit services to commercial customers. The Home Loans segment originates and services home loans, manages capital market operations, fulfillment and servicing of portfolio of home equity loans and lines of credit, originates and purchases mortgage loans to higher risk borrowers, provides financing and other banking services to mortgage bankers for the origination of mortgage loans, and offers insurance-related products and reinsurance services. This segment offers various real estate secured residential loan products and services primarily consisting of fixed-rate home loans, adjustable-rate home loans, hybrid home loans, option ARM loans, and mortgage loans to higher risk borrowers. As of December 31, 2006, the company operated 2,225 retail banking stores and 472 lending stores and centers in 36 states. Washington Mutual was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.