I tend to like nice guys. Don't we all? One of my favorite investors is John Templeton. Years after his death, he's still acknowledged as an exemplary person and great investor. But you don't have to be adorable to be a good investor.

Bill Ackman claims Herbalife is a pyramid scheme, and he makes a good case for it. But even if you don't buy his argument, there are other compelling reasons that would make many reasonable people run far and run fast from this company.

The Pecora investigations provided the factual basis that the financial system and political allies were corrupt. They did not divide the nation or divert its response to the economic crisis.

Wall Street may be heading for the deepest investigation of its practices since a congressional panel's probe of abuses following the 1929 stock marke...