From GigaOM:
In the volatile 23 minutes of turmoil between the minute the disinformation hit the stock market at 8:55 PST and Apple’s announcement that the initial email “is fake and did not come from Apple,” nearly 15 million shares changed hands. That’s 60% of Apple’s normal volume in well under a half hour. That’s also an awful lot money lost for some investors - and gained for others - all of it because of a lie.
In short, a fake Apple email was sent to Apple employees; they promptly forwarded it to the press, trouble ensued. I’m amazed that the market would jump so much at the news that an unreleased product might be delayed - aren’t Apple profitable without the iPhone? Is their stock price buoyed up by the fact they might release a product?
Years ago the Yippies threatened to put LSD in Chicago’s water supply; the mayor rolled out the National Guard to protect it. On being told by the Yippies that LSD wasn’t water soluble, and posed no threat to the good people of Chicago, the mayor admitted that he knew this, but had to roll out the National Guard to make people feel safe. A fake threat had been countered by real force.
Information’s (even wrong information) a funny old thing, isn’t it?
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