Spritzer, anyone?

The stock market is up and perhaps rightly so as a colleague pointed out that the Federal Reserve announced plans to expand its securities-lending program to $200 billion.  But I think the stock market is up for a different reason.
 
I think “Client 9” has something to do with it.
 
Could it be that the folly of one of the most feared critics of corporate America has spurred a modest rally in one of the worst markets in months?  Could it be that the man responsible for holding swashbuckling research firms accountable and issuing more than $1 billion in fines is finally on the fritz?  And could it be that the grass is finally greener for Dick Grasso now that his nemesis looks cheaper than a scantily clad Chia Pet?
 
Sadly, it looks like Superman has lost his cape, and all of Wall Street’s Lex Luthers are rejoicing and drinking spritzers, raising their glasses to Spitzer.  Oh, what a pitzer.
 
The truth is, Eliot Spitzer did a heck of a lot more for investors than a paltry rally in mid-March. In many respects, he reformed the way Wall Street does business, and by doing so, he saved myriads of investors from losing the very crystal they are raising today to celebrate Spitzer’s demise.
 
It’s a sad day for Wall Street.  It’s a sad day for New York.  But for every supposed great man who has philandered with id instead of super-ego, their legacies, in many cases, are still alive and well.  The problem is, their ability to pave a yellow-brick road to righteousness is forever lost.

— Evan Pondel, Senior Associate, epondel@pondel.com