So apparently, I’m now a prickly rose, and also no longer a journalist.  I didn’t know I retired.  Someone please tell my bank account so I don’t have to work anymore.

Several of you have sent me this article written by Al Edwards from Our Today, so fine, I’ll respond.  Not just to be contentious, but because there are some very serious issues at play, and I want to make our position at Money Media very clear.

On Sunday, July 13, Al published an article titled, “Listed companies suffer from David Rose’s baneful kiss”.

David is a reputed business writer for the Jamaica Observer, and has also been an analyst on my show, Taking Stock, for the past six years, since our inception.

The article created quite a stir in the investing world.  It blamed David for causing NCB’s stock price to fall to $32.

“The journalist David Rose decided to trade NCB stock, and brought the price down with just two shares. His trading activity triggered the circuit breaker, which saw the stock plummet to J$32,” writes Al.In the subsequent article responding to me, Al goes on to question the motives for these trades. 

“Talking about JSE manipulation, I do hope with all this, that David Rose himself was not manipulated,” he writes. 

He continues, “With just two shares, what was David Rose’s intention? He has not enlightened us on that. What was he trying to do? Perhaps Kalilah knows,” Al questions.

For the record, I do not.  I am not privy to the inner workings of David’s very unique mind.  I have spoken to him since this matter arose, and I continue to believe in his integrity as a human being.  David is quite capable of speaking for himself, and will do so if and when his attorneys advise.  

However, this issue has highlighted something that I would like to address.  Al questions, “Can a reporter be a financial analyst at the same time, and should that said reporter declare that he holds and trades in stock in the company he is reporting on?”

Yes and yes.  A reporter can be a financial analyst and actively participate in the market at the same time.  However, I believe that a reporter should declare when he or she holds a personal interest in the companies they are reporting on.  

If David was indeed aware that his trades triggered the circuit breaker on NCB shares, a matter which he later commented on my show, Taking Stock, I agree that he ought to have disclosed his role in this occurrence.  

This will now become policy at Money Media.  Any analyst who comes on Taking Stock or any of our shows, MUST disclose any personal interest in companies they are commenting on.  This also applies to me, and I encourage other media houses to do the same.

To be fair, David has said many times that he invests in every single company listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.  However, I believe that his disclosure in this instance, if he was aware of it, should have gone further.  When your action CREATES the story, that ought to be disclosed.  You are no longer a dispassionate observer and reporter.  You have BECOME part of the story.  

Nothing is wrong with that.  There are many instances in which journalists find themselves embedded in the story, but to be fair to their audience, they should state that upfront.  

Now there are many things that I could question about Al’s reporting too, since he is questioning my objectivity.  Like why does it seem like every time something negative is said about NCB, he’s quick to jump in?  

David isn’t the only member of the media Al has targeted recently.  There’s also this article, “Does the Trinidad Guardian have it out for Michael Lee Chin and NCB?”  Published July 9, right after the Guardian published this pair of articles – “NCB struggling to raise US$300 million bond” on July 6, and “NCBFG could slip out of Lee Chin’s control”, July 8.

Which, by the way, and by your own admission, may have had a lot more to do with NCB’s share price falling, than David Rose’s pair of shares.

In your article against the Guadian, you wrote, “Last week, NCB’s share price was at J$40. Today it has dropped to J$35.”  That was before David’s alleged trades.  But I digress.

You wrote, “By no means am I saying that David Rose is a mendacious stock manipulator, but a pattern is emerging.”

And by no means am I saying that you got paid to write these articles, but a pattern is emerging.  

For the record, if articles are sponsored or otherwise paid for, journalists and media houses are similarly obligated to disclose that.

Now as it relates to how Al got David’s personal trading information, I’m not going to pressure him on that.  Journalists will protect their sources.  

But it does raise questions about whether there was a breach of broker/client confidentiality.  I’ve been told that there really is no such thing as private trades.  All ownership of publicly listed companies is public information, and therefore there could have been no breach.

Does that mean that if someone wants to know my personal trading history, they can just call up my broker and ask for it? What’s the line here? Now I’ve already committed to disclosure, but in today’s society, one does have to be security conscious about people who are watching your money moves with nefarious intentions.

While I’m ok with telling you what I’m invested in, I’m not ok with saying how much.  In a post-SSL Jamaica, where investor confidence is already low, the JSE, the FSC and perhaps the data protection people, ought to clarify what level of data protection investors can reasonably and legally expect.

And that’s the bottom line.