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Originally Posted by jbjb
I assume you agree that there are a great many facts about any company which, if known, would significantly affect stock price. I assume you also agree that knowledge of many of these would give advantage to a competitor. ...
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jbjb, you have a point, but companies publicly deny rumors all the time. Here are a few examples from Apple ...
On the iPhone Mini:
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As stories of an upcoming launch of a new, more affordable iPhone mount, Apple's Senior Vice President of Marketing moves to quash rumors.
Speaking to the Shanghai Evening News, Phil Schiller said: "Despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple's products. In fact, although Apple's [global] market share of smartphones is just about 20%, we own 75% of the profit."
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On bogus layoff rumors:
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For the second time in a week, Apple has denied rumors that it has laid off workers.
On Friday, Valleywag reported that a tipster informed it of layoffs in the Mac Hardware and Pro Applications group, describing Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters as having "lots of security around" and saying "it seems like a lot" of employees were affected. Earlier in the week Valleywag published a similar report that 50 sales employees were laid off from Apple.
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling denied both reports Friday. "It's not true," he said, referring to the rumors involving both rounds of supposed job cuts.
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On music being sold via iTunes:
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According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Apple is denying recent reports that the Universal Music Group isn't planning to renew its contract to sell music through iTunes, stating "We are still negotiating with Universal". Sources (such as the New York Times, Wall St. Journal, etc.) had said previously that Universal planned to end its contract with Apple, continue selling music via iTunes only as they saw fit, and exercise the option to grant exclusive rights to other online retailers.
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And ironically, a rumor regarding Jobs' health:
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A rumour on CNN's citizen journalism website claiming Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs had a heart attack briefly caused the company's stock to drop to an 18-month low on Friday.
Apple denied the report, and shares in the company have bounced back from a low of $94.65 US to finish the day at $97.27 US. The story first appeared as a brief on iReport, a citizen journalism website affiliated with Time Warner Inc.'s CNN that launched in February 2008 with the tagline "Unedited. Unfiltered. News."
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That's just what comes up dong a quick search on google ("Apple denies" rumors) ... and there are a lot more where those came from.
So denying incorrect assertions of fact is not new for Apple, especially for those bogus rumors which gain a lot of traction. Rightly or not, their silence on this latest rumor will only be read as an indication that the information is correct.
--Pat