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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (9894)	5/20/2004 1:41:01 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

Stock Analysts Sweat Over New Test Thursday May 20, 7:13 am ET Wall Street Stock Analysts Sweat Over New Test Requirements NEW YORK (AP) -- Schoolkids aren't the only ones cramming to pass standardized tests these days. Wall Street stock analysts are sweating over two new exams they must pass to keep doing their jobs. Thousands of analysts, regardless of experience, will be tested on rules and regulations as well as the basic tools of their crafts by next April. If their firms don't register their names with the National Association of Securities Dealers and New York Stock Exchange by the end of this month, the tests must be taken immediately. Test anxiety -- or at least anger -- appears high. "It's a pain beyond belief," said Richard Bove, who follows bank and brokerage stocks at San Francisco-based Hoefer & Arnett and whose compliance officer warned him that the tests require hours of study. "If they can decertify me after 37 years because I can't remember a bunch of new rules, it strikes me as unfair." One exam, known as Series 86, tests basic tools of the trade such as stock-valuation techniques. The other, Series 87, focuses on regulations, including new rules on conflicts-of-interest and disclosure that arose from the research and banking scandals of the past few years. At least 3,000 people must take the tests, estimates Paul Weisman, president of Securities Training Corp., a New York firm that held its first class for the analyst exams this week. Merrill Lynch & Co., the nation's biggest securities firm, is helping its 485 equity analysts prepare. "This is a hot button," said Weisman. "For the high-powered analyst who doesn't pass, this would be devastating." Or at least highly embarrassing. Test-takers have four hours to take the 100-question fundamental analysis test and 90 minutes for the 50-question regulatory test. Analysts who fail the multiple-choice exams must wait 30 days before taking a retest. Aspiring analysts who strike out three times have a six-month respite before they can try again. (The six-month delay is waived for veterans who were employed as analysts as of last March through next April.) Wall Street firms wouldn't comment on their employment or pay policies for analysts who fail. The new exams are rooted in the research and banking scandals that have tarred the integrity of Wall Street. Ten investment banks last year agreed to pay $1.4 billion for biased research reports favoring companies whose investment banking business they sought. As part of the settlement, the firms agreed to isolate analysts from investment bankers, eliminate banking-related compensation to the analysts and disclose their stock-recommendation performance records. Several analysts have left Wall Street since the settlement, saying their jobs are more laborious and less remunerative. Citigroup last week agreed to pay $2.65 billion to settle a suit from investors in the former WorldCom Inc. They cited reports from former Citigroup analyst Jack Grubman cheering the telecommunications company as it wended its way toward bankruptcy while he quietly advised its executives on strategy.