United Airlines stock fell 76% today from $12.17 at open to about $3.00 mid morning. Why the collapse? Because a six-year old story about UAL’s 2002 bankrupty filing was somehow reposted online on the website of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a paper owned by the Chicago Tribune Co. It was quickly refuted and the share price recovered after a 90 minute trading halt. Oddly enough, the story was not dated 2002, but was dated September 8, 2008. The Sun-Sentinel editor denies that the newspaper published the article. Wow - how quickly the markets react.
Wow. Imagine if you saw this coming.