If bad news gets released, will anybody read it?

TheStreet.com’s Marek Fuchs wrote that many companies like to release bad news during holiday time periods like Thanksgiving because the news gets buried behind retail shopping stories or doesn’t get read at all.

This year, Fuchs wonders about the announcement about Kirk Kerkorian divesting his stock in General Motors, which sent the share price down, and announcements by other companies about backdating options and firing its general counsel.

Fuchs wrote, “Why, you are probably asking, did the most loyal manservant of the investor, The Business Press Maven, brush off the effects of a tryptophan-induced coma to wake before dawn on one of the quietest business and news days of the year and write his column?

“It is because this day is, somewhat perversely, anything but quiet. And a saavy investor has to realize this. In fact, for any good investor who wants to avoid letting bad news slip by them unnoticed, a day like today should be one to redouble efforts to read, watch and listen, even as you overdose on that cold, leftover tryptophan.”

Later, he added, “If bad news is released and there is no one there to read it, was it really there?

“Anyhow, this is all a long, snarky way of saying one thing: From issues of national significance to smarmy moves by the executives of companies you own, bad news comes on seemingly uneventful days like today. So keep your eyes peeled.”

Read more here.