In his book The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual, disgraced former Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) internet stock analyst Henry Blodget explained his downfall this way:
If missing the top had been my only mistake, I would have survived . . . I also made a more serious mistake, however, which was to write a lot of emotional unprofessional e-mails, especially during the heat of the crash. Later, amid the wreckage, when the press, public, and regulators began calling for blood, my emails did me in . . . I was accused by New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer of having made remarks in e-mails that were "inconsistent" with my research (popular translation: "privately trashing stocks he was public recommending"). Along with others, I agreed to pay a humongous fine and be barred from the industry.
Cue the ironic music: Blodget has since experienced a comeback of sorts a blogger and columnist for Slate.com. Now that Spitzer's career is over after a gigantic scandal and guess where he'll be writing a column? Yep: at Slate.com with old friend. Is Slate planning to sell tickets to its Christmas party? Perhaps they could auction them off to raise money for people who lost money in the NASDAQ bubble, or perhaps pay for counseling for former prostitutes, or both.
Eliot Spitzer, meet Henry Blodget!
Posted Dec 5th 2008 3:55PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Scandals, Books
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