Apple stock plummets on false Jobs rumour

Is somebody trying to manipulate the market?

A CNN iReport blog post claimed Steve Jobs had a heart attack. The stock dropped precipitously to $94.65 before rebounding, as it proved to be completely false.

One wonders if it's some overzealous investor out there who has shorted AAPL or wanted to buy in cheap. Whether it's illegal rumour mongering or honest mistake, there are going to be a lot of mad investors, as I'm sure many had (stop-loss) sell orders just below the $100 mark.

[Update 2008-10-03]

AAPL closed down 3% to $97.07, the first close below $100 in over a year. So perhaps the rumour mongering did not make that much difference anyway in the greater scheme of things. It would seem that although the bailout bill was finally passed by Congress, investors still weren't much impressed, and the market slid in general. Nonetheless, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the false report about Steve Jobs.

Besides the close below $100, this marks another milestone for AAPL. The stock has lost more than half its value for the year. I'm going to hold of course, but may just have to buy some more if it drops even further to below $90.

October Rogers & Fido iPhone plans

After initially offering poor iPhone plans, Fido & Rogers offered us a 6 GB data plan for $30 to appease us geeks. That unfortunately is no longer available, but October also brought us new iPhone plans that seem much more reasonable:

$60
250 weekday minutes
Unlimited evenings and weekends
Unlimited with Fido/Rogers customers
No long distance minutes
75 text messages (sent)
1 GB data
Visual voicemail

$75
400 weekday minutes
Unlimited evenings and weekends
Unlimited with Fido/Rogers customers
Unlimited long distance with Fido/Rogers customers
100 text messages (sent)
2 GB data
Visual voicemail

I personally generally use less than 0.3 GB per month, but that's because I rarely use audio streaming applications with my iPhone, and I don't use YouTube much either. However, if Apple finally allows us those data tethering applications (again) so that one can surf on a laptop through the iPhone, then I would use a lot more data in certain months. Rogers' and Fido's 6 GB data plans specifically allow tethering.

AAPL hits $100

For a new 52-week low, AAPL hit exactly $100.00 today, with a close of $100.10. (I guess there were tons of buy orders at that psychological threshold.) That's less than half the nose-bleed level of nearly $203 not so long ago. That has pushed Apple's market capitalization below the $90 billion mark, which is notable given that it has $20 billion in cash or cash equivalents. It also pushes their price earnings ratio below 20.

Everyone seems jittery about the bailout vote in the House of Representatives, despite the Senate's endorsement yesterday. Good luck tomorrow to all of us who own AAPL (or anything else in the stock market).

AAPL - Back in again at $108.30

Because I'm such a masochist, I decided to chance it again right after the crash. I'm in again at $108.30, which was the price at open. Following the market, it's up today to around $112 so far (which means that Apple's market capitalization is still just under $100 billion), but the real test in the immediate future will likely be Thursday/Friday, and will depend upon what the US government comes up with in terms of a bailout.

[Update 2008-09-30]

That was amusing. Yesterday Morgan Stanley downgraded AAPL to a target price of $115. One day later, that target price was achieved intraday, with a close of $113.66.

AAPL now below $120

AAPL's wild ride continues. With all the uncertainty in the market, everyone (except me) is pulling their money out of the market. Today, AAPL dropped below $120. This is not just about the greater market, however. Investors didn't like the downgrades to AAPL by RBC and (the beleaguered) Morgan Stanley, to $140 and $115 (ouch) respectively.

AAPL is currently down over $10, trading at $117 and change.

[Update 2008-09-29]

As of a few minutes ago, AAPL hit $109. Impressive drop, especially considering that the rest of the tech sector seems to be holding on with only mild drops.

[Update 2008-09-29]

After Congress rejected the bailout bill, AAPL briefly touched the $100 (plus change) level today, and closed just over $105, down nearly 18%. Maybe it's time to buy again soon. Or not.