Spitzer spoils gala dinner for Wall Street analysts

Eliot Spitzer, New York State attorney general and the man at the centre of investigations of investment banks that fuelled the dot-com bubble, put in an unusual appearance last night. At the Institutional Investor All-Star awards dinner he addressed the audience, reportedly causing some guests to voice their disapproval.

Referring to the electronic correspondence that his office has used to uncover wrongdoing by prominent analysts, according to this morning's FT he joked: "It's wonderful to be here because I really want to put faces to the emails."

He then proceeded to use the stage to talk seriously about "an industry failure", at which time a handful of guests loudly left the room.

This year Spitzer has championed investors who lost money in the dot-com boom, principally because some Wall Street analysts published bullish Buy recommendations in dubious circumstances. Other states are now pursuing certain investment banks.

Spitzer, though a local politician, has been influential around the world. He also came in at number 13 on this year's silicon.com Agenda Setters top 50 list of power-brokers in high-tech. (See: http://www.silicon.com/as2002 )