Spurious rumors circulating the Internet are driving up the stock prices of many big names in the wireless sector: chief among them, Palm. Earlier this week Palm's CFO Andrew Brown was due to speak at an investment bank conference in Boston, but missed the engagement. Rumors quickly circulated that his absence was because of an impending acquisition of the company, sending shares up 4 percent. Palm sent out a press release to dispel the rumors, noting that the CFO had thrown out his back and his doctor advised him not to travel. Some say the rumor drove Palm's market cap up $65 million. Palm has long been a rumored acquisition target of companies including Motorola and Nokia.
For more on the M&A hysteria:
- see this article from Techdirt