"In this story of compromised relationships and inherent conflicts of interest on Wall Street, financial journalist Benjamin Mark Cole traces the pivotal role of securities analysts - those experts who work for big brokerage firms and analyze a company, look into the future, and recommend whether to buy a stock. Cole shows how the securities analysts' job today is to make a "best case," not to be objective skeptics of a company's future performance.

As their firms chase investment banking deals, Wall Street analysts are ignoring red flags and touting stocks that are poised for a fall. And too often, analysts would sooner stop covering a company than recommend selling its stock. As a result, many investors these days have watched the stocks they own fall precipitously - without any warning from the analysts who persuaded them to buy the shares in the first place.".

"The Pied Pipers of Wall Street gives readers a close-up picture of how things really work. This is a cautionary tale of the offhand, everyday deception that resides in too many "buy" recommendations from the analysts, the true story of the fundamental conflict of interest that is routine for the securities business. It is also a lesson and a warning to the millions of individual investors who trust and rely on brokerage analysts for objective guidance on their own investments."--BOOK JACKET.