Meredith Whitney: 360 Degrees on RealMoney

Editor's note: Analyst Meredith Whitney released a negative view on banks and the economy in general Monday afternoon, somewhat blunting a sharp rally in stock market. RealMoney contributors took up the story and ran with it.

TheStreet.com has always believed that offering a wide variety of opinions and viewpoints -- rather than a monolithic "house view" -- helps readers make better-informed investment decisions. In that spirit, we bring you "360 Degrees," a feature that takes advantage of our varied stable of RealMoney contributors, who offer analysis of stocks and the markets from all angles.

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Jim Cramer started the ball rolling in Columnist Conversation:

Meredith Whitney
11/16/2009 3:30 p.m. EST

Is this why the market dipped? Because Meredith Whitney came on and said that the banks are expensive and too high? Is that what we feared? What edge does she have? What is her standpoint? Bad loans? Bad credit? It is painful to hear her now. I know she called the top in Goldman Sachs and I know she was negative going into the cataclysm. But this is really same old, same old now. The fact that it worked and knocked down Goldman and JPMorgan is rather amazing to me. And is a testament to how stupid the market can be.

No humility, no sense that we have had a big rally. No evidence that things are further deteriorating. No talk about the credit improvement at JPM. And, instead, chatter about retail sales? I mean, wait a second, retail sales? Now she's a macro generalist? Her credibility, like Roubini's, is shot...

Position: GS, JPM

Timothy Collins weighed in, asking for accountability:

Meredith
11/16/2009 3:46 p.m. EST

You know the game, Jim. It's her job to MAKE headlines. Otherwise, how do her clients know she's working? One of my cohorts said it best here ... this is just an excuse to sell. Any selloff based on her remarks will be short-lived unless they prove to be correct. Now we just need to hold her to the same standards of "owning" her call here. That's what I want to see the media actually do. If she's wrong, then next time she is on, pull out the clip, and say, "Meredith ... what makes you different this time? Why should we listen to what you have to say here?" She has been very right on several occasions. She can't be right on every occasion, but where do we draw the line?