Apple iPhone for $99 at Wal-Mart? Hogwash on Aisle 7

Did it ever occur to the business media that Wal-Mart might love the idea of a cheaper iPhone, but it made no sense to Apple to sell the same phone for $100 less than it does in an Apple store? And when the business media saw that they overlooked this, why not fess up? Say you blew it and tell why and, for the benefit of the savvy investor, explain what you learned. This would have a direct impact, for example, on articles built on rumor about Apple's upcoming Macworld, right? Reminded once again of how the business media messes up coming Apple product stories, you'd be less apt to believe the next one you read in the lead-up to the Jan. 5 meeting, right? And what about the next time you read some sure-fire story about a product release by two companies with different motivations? If the story is built on the suspect strength of a low-level source in just one of the companies, are you going to believe it?

If you do, The Business Press Maven has a $99 iPhone to sell you.

Apple shares closed Monday's trading session up 80 cents, or 0.93%, to $86.61. Wal-Mart closed down 24 cents, or 0.43%, at $55.11. And AT&T closed down 8 cents, or 0.3%, at $27.86.