Take political coverage. You can get it wrong on Tuesday and correct it on Wednesday, and the only impact may be a temporary blip in tracking polls. But every political reporter knows that extra care must be taken in the days just before an election because a last-minute bombshell can affect the final result. Financial reporters need to take the same care every day as political reporters do leading up to Election Day. The risks are the same.
Short sellers have the same incentive to spread disinformation as political dirty trick artists.
Information moves markets and on Wall Street, every day is Election Day. Particular care is needed these days, when the sun never sets on the financial markets or the financial news. Getting it wrong was less risky when you just had the Wall Street Journal , two business wires and a few business magazines. But with all-business cable, satellite broadcasting and the World Wide Web, we've given new meaning to Mark Twain's observation that a lie travels around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. Today, a stock can tank and a bank can close before the truth can even put on its socks.