The Upshot: Credit Suisse Doesn't Feel Clinton's Pain

With the kind of welcome Bill Clinton is getting from Wall Street's traditional brokerages, he's going to have to open an E*Trade account if he wants to play the market.

Only a few weeks after Morgan Stanley Dean Witter apologized for inviting the former president to speak at an investment conference, Clinton got the brushoff from yet another Wall Street firm, Credit Suisse First Boston. On Tuesday, Clinton spoke, as planned, at a media and entertainment conference that CSFB co-sponsored with Variety magazine.

But by the time Clinton hit the stage Tuesday afternoon, following speakers such as News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and Viacom President Mel Karmazin, CSFB had erased all association with the conference. Its name was nowhere on the press release or information booklet distributed at the conference. CSFB Vice Chairman Ken Miller didn't show up to introduce Clinton, as once scheduled. Managing Director Laura Martin did participate, according to a spokeswoman, but her name was nowhere on the agenda. And don't even go looking for mention of the conference on CSFB's Web site, where it once appeared.

All a CSFB spokeswoman would say is this: "In light of current events, we have reduced our involvement in the conference."

Hmmm. This may possibly have something to do with all those last-minute pardons coming out of the Clinton White House, but the spokeswoman declined to elaborate.

Of course, the insult Clinton suffered today was probably softened by the $100,000 worth of Benjamin Franklin etchings that Clinton is rumored to be earning per speech. To his credit, Clinton, kind of like Bruce Springsteen, appears to hold nothing back from his audience in live performances; 25 minutes after he left the stage, he was still shaking hands, signing autographs and answering stupid questions from reporters.

Like this one: Does he have any plans for where he's going to invest all that money he earns postpresidency? Nope, he told TheStreet.com. "If I had, I wouldn't discuss it."

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