How Much Is Bank Research Worth?

How much is bank investment research worth? There are obvious examples of great work on a consistent basis, such as calling a flash crash or dissecting volatility with stunning insight. But there are also the cases when bank research is all consistent in ignoring essentially the same performance drivers, as was evident in bank analysis of the Petrobras 100-year bond offering.  With certain bank research ignored or overlooked by clients, a McKinsey & Co study, first reported in ZeroHedge, is interesting to note. It predicts mass layoffs of brokerage research staffs as, when asked to pay for the deluge of…