Financial analyst

A financial analyst (or securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst) works with financial analysis. In the US, financial analysts are sometimes referred to as Wall Street analysts, just as financial services firms in that country are sometimes referred to as Wall Street firms. Equity is a financial security used for financing business. It differs from debt in that it pays no set interest. It is a claim on future earnings.

Scandals

The 2002 Wall Street scandal arose from percevied biased research analysis. See also the "global settlement" of late 2002.

Related Topics:
2002 Wall Street scandal - Research analysis - Global settlement

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Tad LaFountain, a Wells Fargo Securities analyst, dropped coverage of Altera (stock symbol: ALTR) because Altera executives informed him that they will no longer take his phone calls, allow him to ask questions about conference calls or give him any data, according to The New York Times. According to LaFountain, the company objected to his research -- more specifically, to his sell rating on Altera shares. The issue of analyst intimidation continues to dog the industry. Source: FierceFinance, The New York Times.

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