Retail investors need to read broker reports carefully to interpret the recommendations.

"Buy" or "sell" recommendations are clear enough, although there are precious few of the latter. But what do "accumulate", "add", "hold" or "neutral" mean? The terms are used to grade recommendations and should be read in conjunction with the full analyst's report, the risk ratings given for the shares and any share price target set, one broker explained. "Hold" is generally seen as a euphemism for "hold if you want to lose money". If "sell" is the recommendation when an analyst expects a share price to fall or is concerned about company fundamentals, why haven't there been more "sell" recommendations?

As they try to interpret recommendations, investors worldwide are concerned about the independence of equity research - concern driven by the presence of equity research and corporate finance within the same firms and by revelations that some analysts in the US held shares in companies on which they reported.

With a number of lawsuits pending in the US from angry investors, the Irish Stock Exchange is updating its rules on analyst independence. It is expected to require disclosure of analysts' interests in reports rather than a blanket ban on shareholdings.