The sound of silence

The government's proposed overhaul of how Wall Street does business aims to erase the role of sellside analysts in the financing process, imposing new worries on a biotech sector already littered with microcap companies that are attracting little institutional or retail investor interest.

Thus far, 11 investment banks have agreed to change their research practices under on a deal reached with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. A twelfth firm, Thomas Weisel Partners, remains in settlement discussions...