The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

2. Dropouts

Bausch & Lomb (BOL Quote) finally blinked on ReNu with MoistureLoc.

The Rochester, N.Y., eye-care company recalled the contact lens cleanser this week after a long series of setbacks.

Last month, Bausch pulled U.S. MoistureLoc shipments as regulators probed its link to a potentially blinding fungal infection called Fusarium keratitis. Bausch had earlier pulled shipments in Asia when cases of the fungal infection turned up there. Yet the company maintained that there was no evidence that MoistureLoc contributed to the infections -- despite Center for Disease Control data showing most infection sufferers had used the product.

"Bausch & Lomb believes that the root cause of these infections is not related to a specific contact lens or lens-care product," the company said in a March 31 release pledging to get to the bottom of the mess.

But now, in light of additional infection reports and further testing, Bausch has seen the light. The company "has proposed that unique characteristics of the formulation of the ReNu with MoistureLoc product in certain unusual circumstances can increase the risk of Fusarium infection," the Food and Drug Administration said this week.

Bausch put the recall in slightly different terms. "Bausch & Lomb's top priority is the safety of our customers, and we want them to have complete confidence in our products," CEO Ronald Zarrella said Monday.

Complete confidence doesn't seem to be in the cards right now.

Dumb-o-Meter score: 88. "Bausch & Lomb is working with eye-care practitioners to launch new programs that will provide consumers with products and information for better eye health," the company said Monday, continuing its hygiene kick.