What does 'one-sided' or 'unconfirmed' mean in market news?

Market-moving stories usually involve at least two parties: the company and its counterparty, the source and the subject, the claimant and the denier. Most financial news blurs these situations into a single word — "reportedly". We use explicit states instead, because the difference between them is often the whole story.

The states

• RUMOUR / UNVERIFIED — a claim exists, but no involved party has spoken. It may be true; it is simply unproven. Anything in this state carries the label visibly, including in notifications.
• ONE-SIDED — one party has confirmed its own account, and the counterparty has not spoken. This is the state most coverage gets wrong: one confirmation is not a confirmed story.
• DISPUTED — one side confirms, the other explicitly denies. Both statements are real; the truth is contested.
• CONFIRMED — the parties involved have confirmed, or an authoritative primary record (a regulatory filing, an official decision) establishes the fact.
• DENIED — the relevant party has explicitly denied the claim on the record.
• CORRECTED — we published something that later proved wrong, and fixed it visibly. The correction history stays public; nothing is silently rewritten.

Silence is never denial

The load-bearing rule in this system: a party that has not commented has not denied anything."Company B could not be reached for comment" leaves a story ONE-SIDED, not DISPUTED and not DENIED. Treating silence as denial — or as confirmation — is how markets get moved by stories that later evaporate. Our states only change when someone actually speaks or an authoritative record appears, and every change is logged.

Official does not mean everything is confirmed

A primary source is authoritative for what that source itself published. An SEC filing confirms that the company filed it and what the company stated — it does not automatically confirm claims in it about third parties. When official documents attach to an open rumour in our system, they arrive as evidence with an editor deciding what they actually establish.

Why this matters for readers

The practical use is speed with honesty: you can act on the fact that a claim exists and is one-sided — knowing exactly how much is established — instead of discovering the nuance three headlines later. Every story and brief on this site carries its state, and the Rumour Watch section tracks open claims until they resolve.