J&J shares plummet following asbestos report

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell $14.84 (10%) to $133 on Friday, wiping out nearly $40 billion in market cap, after a Reuters report said company executives knew for decades that the company’s baby powder sometimes tested positive for asbestos. J&J said in a statement that the report was “one-sided, false, and inflammatory.”

Reuters said its story was based on the examination of thousands of company memos, internal reports and other confidential documents that J&J was forced to hand over to lawyers whose clients claim their cancers were caused by talc contaminated with asbestos in J&J's baby powder...