"Like a gang of clowns in a pie shop."*
From ZeroHedge:
One of the key catalysts (aside from the retarded rumor that JPM would buy Bank of America) that prevented BAC's stock from dropping to a 5 handle yesterday, was JPM's credit upgrade of Bank of America (report here). Sure enough, the reacharound from BAC is as usual missing, with the response from the bank's banking analyst Guy Moszkowski, being to... downgrade JPM. And he did not stop there: he also cut, GS, MS, and C: in other words the entire TBTF brigade. Someone should probably explain to Guy that any sell off in BAC's peers will be doubly acute in the stock of BAC itself, which has now become the whipping boy for the shorts, and the proxy of all that is wrong in the US and European banking system. Then again, with the palpable sheer panic in the corridors of 1 Bryant Park, we doubt anyone at that bank has any idea what they are doing at all.*The Wall Street Journal's Tim Annett was an uncontested winner of the prestigious Climateer Line of the Day award back in September, 2007:
From the BAC report:
Lowering 3Q forecasts, POs on magnified seasonal decline due to heightened volatility, which has been particularly difficult to manage following S&P US-debt downgrade. Firms likely saw sizable inventory hits; partially offset by better equity trading, particularly in cash, though derivatives challenged given volatility spike. IB weaker as well, as volatility dampened deal appetite. GS PO to $148 from $153, MS to $25 from $26; JPM to $51 from $55; C to $50 from $53....MORE
Climateer "Line of the Day" and Day Trading Hot Chinese Alt-Energy (What could possibly go wrong?)
Speaking of the WSJ's Blog Empire (see below), Tim Annett posting at MarketBeat was yesterday's winner with a walk-off home run*:
Like a gang of clowns in a pie shop, Wall Street brokerages had a merry old time slapping one another with various downgrades, earnings-estimate parings and price-target reductions in the lead-up to their recent earnings announcements....
