Possible hacking13 Jul 2011 00:15
Michelob,
I agree with you that the possibility of TNI being guilty of hacking is high. However, I disagree that nobody is talking about this - I have seen a number of comments in the media over the last few weeks suggesting that most of the nationals, particularly the tabloids, will have been 'at it' to a greater or lesser extent. I think that expectation is out there. What I think really matters is how bad any hacking by TNI has been. If it's Milly Dowler and dead soldiers stuff than I agree the sp could be hit very hard. If it's footballers, pop stars, film stars, etc then it won't be good news - they will have to settle claims, face some bad publicity, etc - but I don't think that in the long term it will have a very adverse effect. The general issue of NoW hacking has been in the public domain for some years now (on and off), getting steadily worse, and NoW readers have still been quite happy to buy in the same numbers and advertisers have been happy to continue advertising until last week when it came out that they had crossed a line that the public wouldn't stand for. Providing that TNI haven't behaved so apallingly then I would hope that the possibilty of some hacking fall out should be more than offset by the certainty of the windfall from the NoW closure - as Panmure Gordon said this should be the opportunity of a lifetime for TNI. I bought a substantial holding at 45p pre the NoW announcement and sold 40% at 51p as some insurance against some horrible hacking news but even though the price has tanked over the last couple of days I'm happy to hold the remainder on the basis that the potential rewards justify the risks because I think that otherwise this share is very undervalued on fundamentals. But what do I know ??????