Did big business titles in U.S. lead investors down the garden path?

Several of the biggest U.S. business magazines have reason to be shamefaced for the way they promoted companies that are now wards of the state. With perhaps over-much glee, Gawker, the Manhattan media blog, catalogues the hymns of praise that the likes of Fortune, Business Week and Forbes were singing not so very long ago about of Lehmann Brothers, Merrill Lynch and AIG. For instance, in December, Fortune was touting AIG as one of "10 stocks to buy now".

All the big financial magazines butter their bread with dubious prescriptions for how hobbyist investors can beat market professionals, so Fortune is hardly alone in being humiliated by the ongoing market meltdown.