[This article was originally posted at 11:54am EDT and has since been updated. Please see below.] “Apple shares took a 3% dip Tuesday amid speculation about a cut in production of the trendy iPod-inspired phone. The chatter that sent the stock down was that Apple was reducing its production of iPhones from “9 million units to 4.5 million units, according to a note from Miller Tabak & Co.,” Scott Moritz reports for TheStreet.com.

“The note cites talk among traders at Goldman Sachs and also includes speculation that the cuts may be coming in iPod production,” Moritz reports.

“The hotly anticipated iPhone generated a great deal of attention and initial sales were brisk. But as TheStreet.com reported, the demand was less than some had anticipated. People familiar with the company said at the time that Apple were prepared to sell out the 1 million phones it had ready for its weekend debut,” Moritz reports.

Full article here.
Lots of chatter, speculation, and rumors, but no facts. When we read something like this, the first thing we do is wonder who’s talking and what, if anything, is in it for them if Apple stock prices move in either direction.

Apple’s goals have not changed: 1 million iPhones by the end of this quarter, 10 million iPhones in 2008.

[UPDATE: 2:32pm EDT: Miller Tabak analyst Peter Boockvar said that his firm "authored no such note on Apple. Instead, he said, gossip was passed along during a conversation and was subsequently overblown. 'Disregard it. There's no note on Apple today,' Boockvar said. 'It's pure noise,'" AppleInsider reports. Full article here.]