Buy, Sell and Hold On! Stock Ratings Still Confuse

If you thought stock research was simple and transparent in the wake of Eliot Spitzer's crusade, you haven't looked closely at Wall Street's new rating systems.

While all the major investment banks now adhere to a three-tier system to classify stocks, no standardized rules have been adopted, meaning that each brokerage has been able to define buy, sell and hold in its own unique way. ...