ET is probably one of the most cynically minded readership on the web. Does anyone actually believe that someone innocently, in a low traffic period, did this? Not knowing that any number of hits would propel the story on to Google. We know dark side bloggers who would have NO readership do this all the time, linking themselves to each other, getting fraudulent traffic. And we are n't waiting for the SEC. Should this bear out, it's criminal. SEC Opens Early Inquiry Into UAL's Stock Decline By KARA SCANNELL September 11, 2008 3:50 p.m. The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a preliminary inquiry into the circumstances around UAL Corp.'s stock drop, according to people familiar with the matter. The inquiry is in early stages and may not result in a full investigation, one person familiar with the matter says. The SEC is looking at whether there was any improper behavior behind the release Monday of a 2002 Tribune Co. news story about UAL's bankruptcy filing, which was picked up by Google Inc.'s automated news service. After the old story resurfaced, UAL's stock fell from $12.50 to $3 in 15 minutes before trading was halted. The preliminary inquiry comes as the agency has stepped up its efforts to combat the spreading of false rumors across the market. Earlier this year the SEC brought its first case against a short-seller who spread false information about a pending takeover. It has also launched investigations into short selling of Bear Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers Holdings stock. "Anytime anyone spreads false information over radio, T.V., Internet message boards or chat rooms, that will raise questions as to whether someone is committing securities fraud," said John Reed Stark, head of the SEC's office of internet enforcement. Mr. Stark declined to comment on whether the agency is investigating the UAL posting. The UAL glitch has sparked a round of finger pointing. Tribune Co. said it was caused by a single Web hit on an old story on one of its newspaper's Web sites. Tribune Wednesday blamed Google's automated news collection for misreading the archived story about UAL's 2002 bankruptcy-court filing as fresh news. In its latest explanation, Tribune said a single visit during a low-traffic period early Sunday morning pushed the undated story onto the list of most popular business news of its South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper's Web site. From there, it was picked up by Google and was also distributed subscribers of Bloomberg, the financial-news service widely watched on Wall Street. Write to Kara Scannell at kara.scannell@wsj.com
SEC opens probe into UAL share price drop: report Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:03pm 1 of 1Full SizeWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Securities regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into UAL Corp's (UAUA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) stock drop after an outdated story about its bankruptcy was treated as current, breaking news, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into whether there was any improper behavior behind the release on Monday of a 2002 Tribune Co (TXA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) news story about the bankruptcy filing, people told the journal. The company's stock price dropped 76 percent to $3 after the article was posted on the Bloomberg financial news service. It later recovered. The inquiry is in its early stages and may not evolve into a full investigation, a person familiar with the matter said. A spokeswoman from UAL said: "Our investigation as to how and why this happened is ongoing. It would be inappropriate for us to comment on any aspect of the investigation while it is under way." The SEC declined to comment. A Tribune spokesman also declined comment. On Wednesday, Tribune blamed technology owned by search engine company Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for treating the outdated story as new. Tribune said in a news release that it had identified problems with Google's "Googlebot" technology months ago and asked the company to stop using it to "crawl" for stories on its website. The story appeared over the weekend on an inner page of the website of Tribune's South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper in Fort Lauderdale. Google News then featured it in its search results, where it was discovered by Miami Lakes, Florida-based investment firm Income Securities Advisers. (Reporting by Washington and New York newsrooms; Editing by Andre Grenon)
First things first. I want to get it from 'them' first. and second 'they' don't make the rules anymore. The rules are dictated to them. Don't be so sure of the negative. seven, eight years ago, I'd agree. Now, let them come out and rationalize screwing people and keeping the money.