Why 'According To Sources' Financial News Should Be Stopped

Over the past years, we have seen it over and over and over again. The financial press highlights an extremely juicy piece of financial news based on an unknown source. (Do refer It's a million dollar deal and the stock mentioned then jumps higher upon the publication of the news, only to come crashing down once the parties involved denies the news.

Recent case? No Such Timber Concession!

Easy way out for the publishing newspaper is claiming a bad source or a bad mistake from their financial reporter.
Which makes me wonder. What good is the financial reporter if he/she is incapable of verifying the facts?

But the most damning would be the public questioning if the news was cooked up by the source or syndicates in an attempt to derive profits from creating such news.

It gets messier once the public questions if our financial news has now become a tool for the syndicates to broadcast their cooked up financial news.

Or what if the public asks if the financial news paper is in cahoots with the syndicates?

Whatever the reasoning, once the financial news based on unknown quoted sources, is refuted by all parties involved,  the financial news becomes a laughing stock.

Some might even asks why bother buying the newspaper at all, if the news published is based on such shady sources?

Best solution?
Well, if I may, I believe it's high time for our financial news editor to wake up and clean up this mess. Get the reporters to verify their source.

The public wants and deserves to read credible news and not news cooked up as a means to gain richness.

The authorities needs to look into this shenanigans.

Less we forget that it's also a waste of public money to have our corporate leaders of the corporations  mentioned in the news, take time off from their daily work to address such baselss news reporting.

And today, what do we have?

Business Times has published yet another source based financial news.

Sigh!

Yeah... sigh!

DRB, the stock mentioned, of course is currently moving higher SOARING HIGHER based on the news. Want to guess what happens once the news is denied?

• DRB-HICOM to go private?
  
  Published: 2013/01/10
  
  FIRST QUARTER TARGET: Tycoon Syed Mokhtar may make standalone offer, says source
  
  KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary may make a standalone offer to privatise DRB-HICOM Bhd, the country's biggest automotive company, people working on the plan said yesterday.
  
  Business Times understands that the plan is being helmed by privately-held Meridian Solutions Sdn Bhd. Meridian is a unit controlled by Syed Mokhtar's top financial aide, Ooi Teik Huat.
  
  The low-profile 53-year-old Ooi is one of the Syed Mokhtar's top backroom boys, who sits on the board of many companies in which the Kedah-born businessman has a controlling stake.
  
  Ooi currently sits on the board of Malakoff and MMC Corp Bhd.
  It is further understood that Hong Leong Bank Bhd and Public Bank Bhd are the two top banks working with Ooi on the privatisation.
  
  "Hong Leong and Public Bank will help provide the financing for the exercise. It is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of this year," said the source.
  
  Business Times was also told that DRB-HICOM could be taken private for between RM3.50 and RM4 a share, and that the exercise will be solely driven by Syed Mokhtar, who controls some 55 per cent of the company.
  
  Syed Mokhtar, 61, could fork out as much as RM7.73 billion to take DRB-HICOM private.
  
  The exercise comes barely a year after he bought Proton Holdings Bhd at RM5.50 a share or 24 times estimated earnings.
  At RM4 a share, DRB-HICOM is valued at RM7.73 billion.
  
  The stock closed at RM2.63 a share yesterday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM5.08 billion.
  
  "None of the other shareholders are involved. It is a standalone bid as DRB-HICOM is severely undervalued. Its landbank itself has a net worth of RM10 billion," said the source.
  
  Neither Syed Mokthar nor his representatives on the board of DRB-HICOM have briefed the board on the planned exercise.
  
  "When they are ready with the money and the numbers tally, they will file in straight the offer to take DRB-HICOM private to the company secretary," said the source.

 Everything is based on the source.

The source throws in a seductive $4 per share privatisation and with DRB only trading at 2.63, isn't a no brainer the stock currently is flying much higher?

So once the story is denied, let me ask you, is it OK with you that our financial news is used to promote a stock so that certain parties can cook the stock much higher?