Merrill Lynch's Very Late Countrywide (CFC) Call

Merrill Lynch downgraded Countrywide Financial (CFC) to a "sell" today. It has had a "buy" on the stock since April 2005, according to Bloomberg. And, investors always thought analysts earned money to be ahead of the news.

Countrywide has lost 42% of its value this year as the crisis in sub-prime mortgages has spread to mortgages to homeowners with modest credit. The Merrill analyst who covers the stock wrote “We cannot understate the importance of liquidity.”

Thank you for that, and for warning shareholders after the company’s shares have already collapsed.

Douglas A. McIntyre