Ah, Wall Street-- the place where fortunes are determined as were victories in naval battles of old: they're won and lost due to tricks of the wind. The wind on Wall Street, though, is the hot air whispering through the rumor mill, and if you want a textbook illustration of just how strongly unsubstantiated rumors can affect a stock's performance, look no further than AAPL. In the past week and a half-- ever since the rumors of P1's development difficulties and potential scrapping-- Apple's stock has tumbled steadily. Sure, it's not the only tech stock to have taken a beating last week, but its decline wasn't just due to general tech concerns. Eventually Apple's stock fell from around 49 to about 42.

Then yesterday, suddenly AAPL jumped nearly three points to close at over 45. The catalyst for this change wasn't an official Apple product announcement or even the PC Data report that the iMac was back in the retail Top 5; according to a Reuters report, the "shift of the wind" was actually a statement by a Salomon Smith Barney analyst to the effect that he thinks the P1 is still likely to be unveiled at Steve Jobs' Macworld Expo keynote address. Richard Gardner reported to his clients that, as far as his firm was concerned, the P1 is still "on track" for a July announcement. In addition, he also stated once again that Salomon Smith Barney's target price for AAPL is $55 and the stock is still rated as a "buy." Boinggg! Instant stock rebound.

Apple, for its part, still isn't saying much about the P1 and the rumors of delays-- the company doesn't comment on unannounced products or rumors. However, spokesperson Natalie Welch had a little more than the usual "no comment" we've all come to expect. According to Natalie, "We announced [the P1] a while ago, saying we would announce it in 1999." (You just have to love it when announcements get their own announcements.) Beyond that, she mentioned that the product will in fact be released in 1999. Precisely when in 1999 is up in the air, of course, but we hear that Apple is pushing hard for availability no more than thirty days after the product announcement. And given the latest rumors at O'Grady's PowerPage that the biggest problems with the P1's ASICs have been fixed, it sounds like there's a good chance that there may be a huge P1 buying frenzy this August. Get ready to spend.