Spitzer's cure worse than the disease

More than a year has passed since New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer completed his attack on bank analysts. And what has happened since then?

Analysis of companies has become sharper? The markets are less volatile and more efficient? Small investors feel more confident about putting their money into stocks?

Well, not quite.

Several recent stories in London would suggest that analysis of companies hasworsened in the past year. The market has less ...