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Strategies & Market Trends : Coming Financial Collapse Moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Box-By-The-Riviera™ who wrote (611)	9/3/2001 9:58:16 AM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 974

Hi Joel, this is very big time negative if implemented as presented ... imagine a world where everyone has to tell the truth 50% of the time :0) news.bbc.co.uk QUOTE Monday, 3 September, 2001, 07:26 GMT 08:26 UK HSBC to shake up analysts' advice HSBC bank is to shake up the way its stock market analysts evaluate companies. If you are interested in making a quick buck you will tell people what they want to here Mark Brown, HSBC's head of global research The move follows criticism of the quality of advice given to investors by big banks. Some investors have accused the banks of deliberately talking up companies to generate corporate finance work. But HSBC analysts will now be told to offer as many 'sell' recommendations as 'buy' recommendations. Law suits HSBC analysts will no longer be able to hedge their bets by offering 'hold' recommendations. The bank will also invest its own money in its recommendations. Investors will now be watching to see if other banks follow HSBC's lead, in an attempt to restore confidence following the collapse of the dot com bubble. US banks are facing a barrage of law suits from angry investors who lost money by following analysts' recommendations as the boom in high-tech shares reached its peak. According to the Financial Times newspaper, bank analysts recommend nine stocks as 'buy' for every 'sell'. HSBC says it is seeking to redress the balance, to provide a more realistic and transparent assessment. It will ask its analysts to rank stocks by sector, forcing them to choose between, for example, BP or Shell, in order to produce as many negative as positive recommendations. The move will virtually eliminate 'hold' recommendations. Transparency Mark Brown, HSBC's global head of research, said: "HSBC has always been at the transparent end of broker research, but the format and tools launched today (Monday) will set a new standard for the industry." Mr Brown said the move was not a direct response to recent criticism of City analysts, but part of wide-ranging review of the bank's global research business which aimed to make it more open and accountable. "The idea was to make it more transparent and align our interests much more closely with our clients." He said some analysts had become "lazy" and resorted too easily to the 'hold' rating because they do not want to upset clients. "If you are interested in making a quick buck you will tell people what they want to hear," Mr Brown said. "If you are interested in building a long-term relationship with clients, you will take a different approach." Making negative recommendations could ultimately strengthen a bank's relationship with its client, he added. "We are not making a judgement on the company, just its share price. "If people are grown-up enough to accept this, they will benefit in the long run," he added. UNQUOTE