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Non-Tech : Binary Hodgepodge -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ~digs who wrote (210)	7/28/2001 12:33:04 AM
From: ~digs	Respond to of 6763

SEC HEAD TO BLAST STREET ANALYSTS ; By JESSICA SOMMAR July 24, 2001 -- Acting SEC Chair Laura Unger is expected to deliver scorching testimony on analyst behavior before Congress next week, The Post has learned. Unger's scathing review comes out of the SEC's watchdog division, the Office of Compliance, Inspection and Examinations (OCIE). "The results show an abysmal record of behavior by analysts" and Wall Street, said a Washington source who heard about the eye-popping information compiled by the OCIE. Last month, Unger charged the tough-as-nails group to expand its investigation of analysts' practices to include how analysts are compensated and how they are supervised. At the same time, Unger released a first-ever investor alert critical of analysts and cautioned the public not to rely solely on analysts' reports. Investigations by the SEC, the National Association of Securities Dealers and the New York Attorney General's office have zeroed in on securities analysts and the conflicts of interest that seem rife in the industry. Rep. Richard Baker (R-La.), chairman of the House subcommittee on capital markets, conducted the first-ever hearings on analyst bias, adding more heat on the embattled analysts. And last week, a lawsuit was filed against the largest U.S. brokerage firm, Merrill Lynch, for claiming, among other things, that Henry Blodget misled investors and did not disclose conflicts he had at the time he made recommendations. More lawsuits are coming, lawyers said. The Securities Industry, attempting an end-run around possible legislation from the House, proposed new best practices guidelines last month. nypost.com