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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Clappy who wrote (51922)	5/22/2002 1:12:27 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Blodget still working on his book By Bambi Francisco CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 10:38 AM ET May 22, 2002 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Merrill Lynch is paying out a $100 million penalty, and the man whose e-mail exchanges were at the center of the scandal is still working on his book. Henry Blodget, the ex-Merrill Lynch (MER: news, chart, profile) Internet bull who signed on with Random House to write a book about the Internet bubble, is still on track to complete that tome. "He's working on it," said Random House spokesperson Tom Perry. The controversy surrounding Merrill Lynch, however, appears to at least have postponed the release date. Blodget's book is not on Random House's spring 2003 schedule of book releases, according to Perry. Earlier this year, Blodget had said he was working diligently to finish his book by this summer. Perry would not comment on whether the content of the book -- which Blodget said he's been at work on for well over two years -- has changed in light of the e-mail exchanges and the investigation into Merrill's practices. Blodget was not immediately available to comment on the status of his book or whether its focus might have shifted. On Tuesday, Merrill reached a settlement with New York concerning charges that its analysts misled investors by hyping stocks of companies whose business the investment bank wanted. The New York attorney general's case against Merrill Lynch is mainly based on a sworn affidavit that cites e-mail exchanges in which Blodget disparaged some Internet stocks in private while recommending them to investors. Several companies were cited in the e-mails, including InfoSpace (INSP: news, chart, profile) and Goto.com, now known as Overture Services (OVER: news, chart, profile). Blodget rode the Internet boom to fame and wealth before the bubble burst in April 2000. At the height of his influence and popularity, or immediately after he made his most audacious, market-moving call, on Amazon.com (AMZN: news, chart, profile), Blodget began to write his book. Even if his credibility is now vastly reduced, there is still a lot of interest in what he has to say, provided Blodget is candid, some observers have said. "If he were candid about what he was thinking as the events were unfolding, it would still be interesting to read about his role and his perspective about the bubble," said Eric Von Der Porten, a portfolio manager at Leeward Investments. "Frankly, I'd be shocked if the book ever got published because there is too much liability." "As long as he's candid, people will be somewhat intrigued because of his front row seat and his notoriety," said Scott Cleland, chief executive of the independent research firm Precursor Group, based in Washington, D.C. Then again, others sneer at the idea of a book from someone whose integrity has taken a beating for the better part of two years. A former analyst quipped that he'd only read the book if it were titled "Dr. StrangeStock, or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dot-Bomb." cbs.marketwatch.com