Shares of Hewlett Packard (HPQ) jumped in aftermarket trading today, following aQuartz story that the "HP board is studying whether to break up the company."
Actually, that was just the headline. The actual story is a noncommittal mishmash that includes such lines as:
The HP directors have discussed the details of a possible breakup scenario, but also the merits of the company staying whole, since a recovery seems to be slowly taking hold and its share price has gained steam since it fell below $12 last November.
In a Dec. 27 SEC filing, HP said it was evaluating "the potential disposition of assets and businesses that may no longer help us meet our objectives." But the board has not formed a special committee to assess a breakup option and does not currently have plans to do so, the people familiar with the matter said.
“In other words, the HP board of directors is doing what boards of directors are paid to do: Evaluating all possible options. Moreover, we already knew they were doing it (because they told us in the SEC filing).
Yet, some traders apparently feel this "news" is worth betting on. And it isn't the first time that such folks failed to read the not-so-fine print.
Late last month, BlackBerry (BBRY) shares surged after Lenovo (LNVGY) chief financial officer Wong Wai Ming told Bloomberg that "We are looking at all opportunities -- RIM and many others... We'll have no hesitation if the right opportunity comes along that could benefit us and shareholders."
Never mind that the comment was milquetoast at best. The headline -- Lenovo Says RIM Bid Among Options to Boost Mobile Unit -- was enough to make fools part with their money.
Look, I understand the value of headlines. Particularly in an age of 140-character limits. But please remember this: The value you gain in trading right now rather than in the 60 seconds it would take you to skim the story pales in comparison to the value we can gain in goosing a headline to make it look super duper important. Trader beware.
有些新闻标题是不能信的。 Dan Primack专注于报道交易和交易撮合者，从美国金融业到风险投资业均有涉及。此前，Dan是汤森路透（Thomson Reuters）的自由编辑，推出了peHUB.com和peHUB Wire邮件服务。作为一名新闻工作者，Dan还曾在美国马萨诸塞州罗克斯伯里经营一份社区报纸。目前他居住在波士顿附近。
昨天，惠普（HP）的股票在盘后交易时段突然大涨，因为科技博客Quartz有报道称“惠普董事会正考虑是否分拆公司”！
而事实上，这仅仅只是个新闻标题而已。其实际内容含混不清、甚至根本找不到出处：惠普董事会成员已经就可能的分拆方案进行磋商，不过他们也讨论了继续保留完整公司的好处。因为惠普似乎已开始缓慢复苏，而且其股价自去年11月跌破12美元后又重新进入上升道。
惠普在去年12月27日提交给美国证券交易委员会(SEC)的报告中称，公司正在评估“剥离可能无法帮助我们实现目标的资产和业务。”不过，据消息人士透露，惠普并未成立特别委员会对分拆进行评估，而且目前也无此计划。
“换言之，惠普董事会的成员们不过在做自己的分内事：评估所有可能的选项。而且，我们本来就已经知道这件事（该公司在提交美国证交会的文件中说明了此事）。
然而，有些交易员显然觉得此“新闻”值得他们下注。而且这也不是他们第一次忽略这么明显的事情。
上月底，联想（Lenovo）首席财务官黄伟明向彭博社（Bloomberg）表示：“我们正在审视所有机会——RIM以及其他许多机会……假如出现对公司和股东有利的机会，我们将毫不迟疑。”黑莓（BlackBerry）股价随后飙升。
这番表态十分腼腆，但这没关系。单单这新闻标题——联想称或将竞购RIM以巩固移动事业部——已经足够让一些傻子散财。
嗨，我明白新闻标题的价值，特别是在如今这个微博横行的年代。但是，请记住：如果你马上进行交易，而非花上1分钟来来浏览新闻报道，那么你从中获得的价值将远低于助推某条新闻标题，使其显得重要无比。交易员们要当心了。
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