Do the Big Companies suffer proportionally worse to bad news in the economy?? Companies such as Marks & Spencer, HBOS Bradford & Bingley etc seem to endure far more negativity from the business media if their results are less than good.
Is the media attempting to create headlines from the difficulties or do the businesses concerned deserve the highlighting of their predicament?
Obviously factual reporting is a must in this sector, but the broadcasting companies seem to have brought on board their own (presumably paid) “experts” usually from “the city”.
There are a number of problems with this, not least they quite often talk absolute twaddle, the possibility of vested interest has to a consideration, as does their qualification/experience to speak on such matters.
It is often found the opinion of one individual begins to take a significant hold of the overview in the media, and there can be little doubt that judgment often seems made more in the “mill of rumour” than in anyone actually using significant data.
This was laid bare with the run on HBOS share some time ago, the possibility that unscrupulous individuals could use their position to make capital from this is obvious. The rumours weakened the HBOS share price at the very time they were calculating the share offer price, further damaging the company’s reputation and its financial base at a time when the confidence in the banking sector as a whole needed little for some to create their own “negative equity” toward the financial industry.
The main problem is in the manner of reporting of so called “experts” and their access to the media, yes a company or sector may be experiencing difficulties, but the share value of any company is relatively volatile in any market (bull or bear) at any given time.
The “money experts”? Can between them create a vicious circle of such proportions the company highlighted spirals out any control, this can not only damage the company but have a “knock on effect” of such proportions whole sectors of business are affected significantly.
It is for this reason the stock exchange’s of the world have to seriously self regulate and investigate themselves to ensure government intervention/legislation is not the option.
The freedom of the markets may be critical to its ability to respond to circumstances, but with it goes a responsibility to all, and not just those who earn a living whilst speculating, and all should be vigilant that speculation is not inversely proportional in access to the media, and that such access is monitored and its use does not become unintentionally the tool for any business/company/sector to experience difficulty extreme beyond its actual reality. |
