@gcrossEXTR PR wires are not simultaneous, not fair. Some get the news ahead of others. [link to post]

– Posted using Chat Catcher

“Is it the wire services that are non-compliant or the third party site redistributing the news that has the issue here. In the case listed above, isn’t the issue with Yahoo! for not posting the release in real-time?”

It’s the wires. And, as I quoted, Business Wire stated emphatically to the SEC that there was no delay between Bloomberg professional and Yahoo! Finance, but that is not true. Also, all the wires have gone to great lengths to create the impression they are real-time and simultaneous, and they’ve known all a long that they can’t in practice guarantee that.

“What other sites did Henry check? bloomberg.com, nasdaq.com?”

The wires complain that if companies use their websites then investors have to go to multiple websites, so this argument of yours is the same. So do wires expect investors to shop around for a site that may or may not be real-time? Why not just post the releases immediately on the corporate website, in addition to sending it out on a wire? At least investors will know there is at least one place where they can be assured of getting the news immediately.

“Nasdaq has a 4:01 time stamp.”

Yes, the time stamp. That’s a fiction in many cases. The time stamp on the release is not the time that the release actually appears on the site in all of the cases we’ve monitored.

“It might not hurt to remind your readers that they should be looking at FINANCIAL sites for financial news. Yahoo may be popular but it is most reliable database in the world.”

Henry *was* looking at Yahoo! Finance, the most popular investment website. And Yahoo! Finance and all the other finance sites we’ve monitored are the same. There’s a delay of between 1 and 4 minutes.

We stand by our story. PR wires cannot ensure simultaneous delivery and they should stop claiming they are doing that. Companies are being remiss in not posting their releases directly to their websites at the very instant it is released via other channels. It’s not a complicated issue.

What other sites did Henry check? bloomberg.com, nasdaq.com? Nasdaq has a 4:01 time stamp.

It might not hurt to remind your readers that they should be looking at FINANCIAL sites for financial news. Yahoo may be popular but it is most reliable database in the world.

The lack of response from certain quarters troubles me deeply. This issue is not a minor one. It cuts to the very heart of fairness in the markets. It doesn’t just impact retail investors.

EVERY investor must now question whether they are getting their information at the same time as everyone else. Who is getting it before them? What is the latency of their current service providers? Material market-moving news is being released at times when investors can trade on it. A late trade due to not getting the information in time can mean millions in losses or missed gains for fund managers and their clients.

What has happened is that the IR profession has failed to evolve with changes in technology, trading and regulation. These issues have been a consistent theme of mine for years. A big obstacle to progress are the big vendors who have gotten fat and lazy. But we can’t just blame them because companies are not demanding better.

NIRI is too close to the vendors and so is IR Magazine. Without the financial support of the big vendors, these institutions of the profession will crumble. I believe this has clouded their good sense. They’ve developed a sort of bunker mentality, seeing IR Web Report and others like us as mavericks and crazy people rioting outside the gates.

But we are beyond the point where it is acceptable to protect our own franchises. The capital market system is in crisis. The situation I exposed in this post is minor compared to the other problems, but it still contributes to a lack of confidence among investors.

People need to trust a system before they will be willing to participate in it. This isn’t one company’s problem. This problem belongs to all of us. What disturbs me is the lack of leadership in the profession. There is nothing to wait for. No new rule is required from the SEC. NYSE doesn’t have to change its requirements. Companies just have to change their disclosure processes.

NIRI must come out immediately and bring this issue to their members’ attention. It’s easy to fix.