Hoax Won't Deter Tweeting

The short-lived hoax on Twitter won't deter companies from disseminating market-moving information using social-media sites. Meanwhile, Wall Street firms are plowing ahead with plans that could give some employees access to these sites at work.

After a fraudulent Associated Press tweet claiming that two explosions at the White House had injured President Barack Obama, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 145 points in an instant. The market quickly recovered. Securities and Exchange Commission member Luis Aguilar called on his agency to look into the Twitter hoax and said the SEC hadn't yet determined who carried it out or why. "Where it appears that the securities markets have been manipulated in violation of the federal securities laws, the SEC should undertake a serious inquiry," Commissioner Aguilar said.