Wall Street's most embarrassing emails
8. The Martians are due on Maple Street
Set-up
News moves fast on Wall Street. Too fast, sometimes. On Nov. 29, 2007, at 1:10 p.m., then-trader Paul Berliner sent a negative rumor about ADS via instant messaging. Allegedly, Berliner had shorted the stock. Within minutes of the IM going out, ADS' share price went into a nosedive. Eventually, the NYSE was forced to temporarily suspend trading on the counter. Turns out the rumor was false, and Berliner was later charged with fraud and fined $125,000. So what did he write?
Punch
'ADS getting pounded — hearing the board is now meeting on a revised proposal from Blackstone to acquire the company at $7O [per share], down from $81 ... '
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