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Dear Mr. Berko:

Dear B.N.:

When everybody seems to agree that something is right – it isn’t. Most analysts who work for the New York Stock Exchange brokerages or the huge money center banks are nice guys. Many were dominated by their mothers, had two serious childhood diseases and never had a girlfriend until they left home. Therefore I trust their research about as much as a chicken would trust a fox in a henhouse.

Last year Michael Cliff, professor of finance at Virginia Tech University’s Pamplin College of Business, completed a study of 24,000 analysts’ ratings between 1994 and 2005. Out of 24,000 research opinions in 12 years, only 1.9 percent of them were rated as “sell.” Good golly, Miss Molly, that sounds like, looks like and walks like a good old-fashioned conspiracy to me.

So whenever I see a “buy” recommendation by an analyst who is not with an independent firm like Value Line, Morningstar, Weiss Research, Moody’s, Matrix, Argus, etc., I ask myself two questions:

1. Who pays the analyst’s salary?

2. What is the relationship between his employer and the firm for which he issued a “buy” recommendation?

Meanwhile, Intel Corp. (INTC-$21.75) has been flat as a flapjack despite the numerous “buy” recommendations by Merrill Lynch, Oppenheimer, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Credit Suisse and others too numerous to mention. Those are very powerful names and the weight of their combined recommendations can be very persuasive.

But let’s face it, many of these brokerages are doing business with, are considering doing business with, have done business with or want to do business in some manner or fashion with INTC, its officers or directors, or with an important affiliate of INTC. That’s why so many NYSE brokerages recommend that issue.

I know INTC is the largest semiconductor company in the world and owns three-quarters of the microprocessing market. I know that its processors are bundled with chip sets that dramatically incorporate more features into its products. And I know that INTC’s capital budget is so huge that its products dominate in cutting-edge technologies. But none of this mitigates the fact that the personal computer market has slowed dramatically since the mid-1990s and that INTC’s expansion opportunities are limited.

I’m also mindful that Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD-$6.39) has quite impressively narrowed its technology gap with INTC and that one single misstep by INTC would give a significant market share gain to AMD. As you know, AMD is INTC’s largest competitor, and its surging revenues are making the INTC people nervous.

INTC is now just a darned good chip maker with decent growth potential. But there’s nothing about the company that screams, “Buy me!” or is compelling enough to recommend a $10,000 (500-share) investment. During the past three years, the shares, try as they could, would never trade over the $28 level, even with improving revenues and earnings.

INTC is a tired $40 billion revenue company, and I’m willing to wager a dozen glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts delivered at 9 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday vs. a plugged nickel that INTC won’t see $40 this year.

So “phooey” on Wall Street research.