The 2002 settlement that cost 10 large investment banks $1.44 billion for biased research reports appears to have had an impact on analysts at those institutions, Associated Press reports. According to Zacks Investment Research, the average broker tends to be overwhelmingly positive with 42% of companies receiving a "buy" or "strong buy" rating and only 3% a "sell" or "strong sell" rating. But at the 10 banks, says AP, analysts were more likely to be pessimistic, with a surge in "hold" rankings and a decline in "buy" rankings. In general, according to the report, analysts' reports tend to be inaccurate, as witnessed by the fourth-quarter of 2005. According to Zack statistics, analysts earnings estimates were off by 5% over half the time.