Finanzplatz faces up to odious comparisons

Sometimes it’s not only what you say that matters but when you say it. When Merrill Lynch analyst Stuart Graham published a research report on the German banks entitled Turning Japanese, his timing was perfect – or disastrous. It depends on your point of view. At a time when so much of the research churned out by investment banks goes straight into the bin, panic-stricken investors picked up on it.