Wall St research suffers since Spitzer deal

Wall St research suffers since Spitzer deal

Frustrated by the restrictions, there's been an exodus of veteran analysts fleeing to hedge funds and other "buy side" investment firms, which offer richer pay and greater freedom. Investors and investment banking clients, meanwhile, say the quality of coverage has suffered, with many small companies no longer getting any attention.

Update: On a separate, but someone related note:

Wall Street complains compliance costs too high

Wall Street, after investigations into one-sided research, illegal mutual fund trades and other malfeasance, is complaining about the cost of what it calls "inefficient regulation."

A survey released on Monday by the Securities Industry Association, which looks after industry interests, found the cost of compliance has nearly doubled in the past three years, to more than $25 billion in 2005, up from $13 billion in 2002.