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We've had a fair amount of mail about banks lately, for obvious reasons.
Mostly it's things like "should I keep money here" and "should I put money there" which, given the nervousness in the market, is natural (if a tad over-cautious, in my view).
And there are missives like this one, from Jim in Reston, Va., in response to Goldman Sachs' [GS
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] recent writedown of banking stocks ... notably Merrill Lynch [MER
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], Morgan Stanley [MS
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], JP Morgan Chase [JPM
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], Citibank [C
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] and Lehman [LEH
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].
Could it be that Goldman Sachs is throwing out all these downgrades on financial companies to divert attention from itself?
Jim is touching on a point we raise in the newsroom from time to time. Banks banging on other banks: Isn't it just one competitor jostling another? We don't pay much attention when Coke disses Pepsi or vice versa, do we? Why should we here?
There are some differences here, though. In this case it's the research department of a bank passing judgment on other bank stocks as investments. It's the same thing they do with other stocks ... it's just in this case these stocks happen to be in the same business as the company that owns the research department.
Of course, in the current credit crisis environment we pay a little more attention to bank downgrades. And there might be a nuance that because the research department at issue is in the same business, it has a little better insight.
And you have to add in that banks, while ostensibly competitors, often depend on each other for liquidity and are even invested in each other to a certain degree, through trading and counterparty relationships at the very least.
Still, I have to agree with Jim. A bank blasting other banks seems a little self-advancing on the surface. Still, that news story has been one of our top draws so far this week. Investors give it credence. (Click here to see how the Fast Money traders think investors should play it).
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P.S. My boss showed me this hysterical video ad this morning. Had to share.
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