UAL Shares Slammed by False Bankruptcy Report
Shares of UAL, the parent of United Airlines, plunged Monday after a false rumor that the company was declaring bankruptcy.
The rumor was apparently sparked by the accidental republication of a years-old news story on a newspaper Web site. United Airlines subsequently told CNBC that the report is inaccurate.
In a prepared statement, United said that "reports that the company filed for bankruptcy are completely untrue and were caused by the irresponsible posting of a 6-year-old Chicago Tribune article by the Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper website with the date changed."
The republished story was related to United's 2002 bankruptcy filing. United exited bankruptcy in February 2006.
Both the Sun Sentinel and the Chicago Tribune are owned by Tribune Co. UAL is based in Chicago.
The stock, which opened trading at $12.17 on the Nasdaq Monday, last traded at $8.97, down 27.07 percent, before being halted for about half an hour starting at 11 a.m. New York time.
The stock finished Monday down 11.22 percent at $10.92.
