MEDIUM RARE By Jim Rarey August 1, 2002 MEETING EXPECTIONS AND OTHER MARKET CONS Last week during “reporting season” (when companies report their results for the previous quarter) an analyst on CNBC was enthusing that 58% of companies reporting had met or exceeded expectations. What, if anything, does this tell the average investor about which companies are good investments? The only thing “meeting expectations” really means is that the companies told the stock analysts ahead of time what to expect, and that’s what they reported. The quarter could have been a total disaster but as long as there are no...