No one has checked the water on Wall St. for traces of LSD and other hallucinogens. First, financial firms bet huge sums of their money on arcane mortgage-related paper and lost hundreds of billions of dollars. Now, equity analysts are predicting tremendous increases for corporate earnings in 2009.

That is the same 2009 which will almost certainly be crushed by the current credit problems and slowing consumer and business spending.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Collectively, analysts expect S&P 500 earnings to expand by 23.9% in 2009, according to Thomson Reuters."

The information shows how irresponsible some financial analysts can be. A number were criticized for putting "sell" ratings on banks after the disaster that engulfed them was in full flower. Truly awful penny stocks like Sirius (SIRI) still have relatively high price targets compared with where they trade now.

Wall St. will have to save more money this year and next. Analysts have done an unusually poor job of calling turns in the market and deteriorating earnings. A lot of them will be out of work.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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