Procter & Gamble Just Says No

Just say no to drugs.

That was the message shareholders sent to Procter & Gamble (PG Quote), and the company listened, saying Monday it had cut off talks with Warner-Lambert (WLA Quote) and American Home Products (AHP Quote) about buying the two drugmakers.

P&G, in a statement, took a passive-aggressive tone, blaming "leaks and resulting speculation" for sinking the deal. But analysts say the real problem was the more than 17% dive P&G shares had taken since news of the talks mysteriously showed up in The Wall Street Journal last Wednesday (something P&G and its bankers surely had nothing to do with). ...