INDEPENDENCE DAY?

Mark Twain once questioned thewisdom of picking a jury of 12 peoplewhose impartiality was guaranteedbecause they knew absolutelynothing about the case. Twain figuredthat anybody that dumb hadno business serving on a jury. That'spart of the argument against thenew "independent" research firmsthat Wall Street brokerages are nowsupposed to get their stock analysesfrom, under the new securities regulationsannounced last year. Criticshave questioned whether anyfirm can be truly independent intoday's Wall Street milieu and pointout that most of the reputableresearch firms have already declinedto be a part of the system. Thatleaves the field open to firms withquestionable track records or notrack record at all.