HSBC's global research head Graham Copley's recent e-mail blast at his department's "predominantly worthless flashnotes" caused a predictable furore. But while his motivational technique raised a few eyebrows, Copley's missive found broad sympathy among a financial community that perceives the quality of investment bank equity research to be in decline.

This criticism of equity research is nothing new. Former UK chancellor Nigel Lawson criticised overpaid teenage scribblers in the 1980s. They grew up and the scribbling was further compromised by the dotcom boom's conflicts of interest. The standing of research reached new lows. A long overdue comeuppance was on the cards. The bubble burst, Paul Myners moaned and Eliot Spitzer spat.