Originally Posted by
flybynuts
I actually have a friend who is an analyist for a big firm; Merril somebody? Anyhow, it is scary when you realize that these guys are just like your everyday guy who just gathers data about one particular subject and then does his best forecasting (rolling bones, educated guess and etc..) to make their REQUIRED reports. We laugh everytime we get together and talk over beers. Ne is a very smart guy but not a God. Most here on this post would qualify for his position.
I'm sure your friend is a great guy and works hard at what he does, but your right. Most analysts tow the company line because they depend on management for inside information-for their REQUIRED reports. Mr Baker has made at least a dozen wrong calls on AMR stock in the past 5 years. The fact that he states APA has higher wage rates than competitors is only correct in 2 or 3 cases: UAL and DAL most notably. SWA's wage rate is higher than AAL's total compensation (pay and pension). Funny he doesn't mention that. BTW, JP Morgan, of whom Mr. Baker is employed by, also happens to manage AMR's retirement services (401k) and AMR's employee stock option plan.