Amateur beats media prognosticating pros again

0 Comments | USA TODAY, December, 2003 | by David Lieberman

What a horrible year for Wall Street analysts.

First, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sent chills down their spines after finding that several analysts had privately denigrated stocks they publicly urged investors to buy. Now, for the third year, a reader walloped them in the Seventh Annual USA TODAY Media and Entertainment Prognostication Contest.

Our winner is Jonathan Crawford, a software architect in Ellicott City, Md., with nine correct answers.

"I'm almost embarrassed," says Crawford, who's about to turn 38. "I do this every year for fun," gleaning most of his media savvy from radio and USA TODAY. He adds: "I've been doing our family investment management 10 years, and we've only had one losing year. My test is simple: Use common sense."

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