Question for Henry Blodget's many detractors: Are you mad that Michael Milken has become respectable?

Blodget and Milken symbolized the excesses of their internet bubble and 1980s respectively. Both were punished for their misdeeds. Milken, who went to prison, now devotes his time to his philanthropic work and an economic think tank. Blodget received a lifetime ban from the securities industry, a punishment he deserved.

Now pundits including MarketWatch's David Weidner and my colleague Zac Bissonnette say they are outraged that Blodget's writing is published in leading news outlets including the New York Times. What about Milken? Bloomberg News just interviewed him about the housing crisis. Should my former employer have killed the story given Milken's notorious past? Of course not.

Milken did his time and paid his fines. He's a brilliant man who still has plenty of interesting things to say. Same goes for Blodget. To be clear, investors shouldn't forgive or forget them for what they did. As far as I know Blodget has stayed out of legal trouble since he was banned from the securities industry. In 1998, Milken agreed to pay a $47 million fine to settle an SEC complaint that he violated his lifetime ban.

Continue reading Media World: If Michael Milken can be redeemed, so can Henry Blodget

Media World: If Michael Milken can be redeemed, so can Henry Blodget originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We've asked each of our bloggers to introduce themselves and talk a little about why they love the market and what positions they call their own. We encourage our bloggers to own common stock and abide by a common code of conduct.

Who are you, and why are you passionate about stocks?
My name is David Kretzmann and I live in Nevada City, CA.

I enjoy investing in stocks because I feel they are the best choice for long-term investors. For each stock in which I invest, I have a minimum of a seven-year time frame placed with that stock, because I believe that is the time you should let a stock "run." I have always liked the idea that you can actually invest in your favorite companies, whether it be Starbucks, Whole Foods, or Palm. It is a fun way to see your money grow.

What was the first stock you owned?
I first starting investing in stocks last July when I was 12 years old, starting by investing in a total of nine different companies (which was a mistake, because I didn't do nearly as much research as I should have). Some of those companies included Palm, 7-Eleven, Netflix, and Electronic Arts. All of the stocks I invested in were recommended by either David or Tom Gardner of The Motley Fool from their various newsletters.

What was your worst investment ever?
I haven't had that terrible of an investment yet, because I've only sold a stock twice (AT&T and Cutter & Buck), and you don't lose any money on an investment until you've sold. So, I haven't had any disappointing investments yet. Only if in seven years I see one of my investments is down, will I consider it not-so-good investment.

Continue reading About the stock bloggers: David Kretzmann

About the stock bloggers: David Kretzmann originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Jul 2006 19:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.