Remember when a bunch of analysts were told (incorrectly) that Apple purchased part of AMD, and then the analysts went on to say why this was an awesome move? Nothing makes me laugh more than watching professionals BS through answers.

Of course, it's even funnier when a cab driver is mistaken for an IT expert and is asked for his legal opinions (just check out his face when he realizes they confused him for somebody else):

Anyways, somebody (calling himself Joe Herrick) has been calling into companies' earning calls and asking facetious questions ... and oddly enough, CEOs are playing along:

At least seven times just the past three weeks, a mystery caller has cleverly insinuated himself into the normally well-manicured ritual of the quarterly calls. As top executives of publicly traded companies respond to securities analysts' questions about their balance sheets, he impersonates a well-known analyst to get called upon. Then, usually declaring himself to be "Joe Herrick of Gutterman Research," he launches into his own version of analyst-speak.

"Congratulations on the solid numbers -- you always seem to come through in challenging times," he said to Leo Kiely, president and chief executive officer of Molson Coors Brewing Co., on Feb. 12, convincingly parroting the obsequious banter common to the calls. "Can you provide some more color as to what you are doing for your supply chain initiatives to reduce manufacturing costs per hectoliter, as you originally promised $150 million in synergy or savings to decrease working capital?"

Of course, it annoys the "real" analysts:

"Hey guys. First, this guy, Joe Gutterman [sic], every conference call this quarter, he logs on as somebody's name and asks these crazy efficiency questions," he said. "So going forward keep in mind you should just disconnect him when he dials in. This is like the sixth call in a row he's done that. It's really annoying." Mr. Schmitz speculates that Mr. Herrick is "some minion" at a consulting firm trying to do clandestine research on companies' use of Six Sigma techniques.

Check out the transcripts and the audio clip from the WSJ link for more ... I thoroughly enjoyed it.