(Apple) Stock Hacking and the Power of Disinformaton

Kevin Kelleher on the bogus rumor that the iPhone had been delayed until October and Leopard until next January:

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.

★ Wednesday, 16 May 2007