A telco industry insider writes:

Today’s edition of Communications Day shows that new Telstra regulatory head Phil Burgess misused a Morgan Stanley report
when talking down the company in the closed-door session at the Press Club last week. As the newsletter reports:

At a press dinner last week, Burgess referred to
a $2.87 projected valuation contained in a Morgan Stanley report but
did not clarify that this price was based on the hypothetical scenario
that Telstra was traded in line with the global average FCF (free cash
flow) yield. The report from the 17th of August – “What happens when
the divided gets cut” – clearly says that such a scenario is unlikely
to occur and that its current prediction for the share price is $4.44.

The
Morgan Stanley research also says that the regulatory regime should be
of least concern to the new Telstra executive guard. The carrier’s real
issue is that, in the face of unstoppable competition, its currently
enjoyed levels of profitability are unsustainable.

The report
actually said that Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo’s and Burgess’s rumble with
the Australian government is doing everything to unsettle investors.
Morgan Stanley offer that Telstra’s new management team have come to
the startling realisation that the outlook for Telstra is much bleaker
than they ever anticipated and, as a measure of last resort, cling to
the possibility of favourable regulatory treatment from the Government.
Morgan Stanley claims that the battle is already lost.

And when is the ASX is going to insist on a fully informed
market in Telstra shares? As Coonan asks, has Burgess misled the
market? Is he in
possession of other material that supports his
extraordinary assertion that he would not recommend his company’s
shares to his mother?

Again, why wasn’t this assessment released to the market? Telstra shares dropped about 9 cents after news of it became public.

When
is ASX going to start ensuring the punters know what’s going at Telstra
before these lunatics destroy and more value in the company?

And another Crikey subscriber asks:

If Mr Burgess’s mum sold her Telstra shares, would she end up in Rene Rivkin’s predicament?