BlackBerry shares halted

Seeing reports that trading in BlackBerry shares has been halted pending a news announcement after trading closes later this afternoon.

More soon....

3:21 pm ET - The company has confirmed it is laying off 4,500 people, and will record a net operating loss of $950 million U.S. Its $1.6 billion in sales for the quarter will fall substantially short of Wall Street targets of $3.06 billion. It will reduce operating expenditures by 50% by 2015. [BGR]

7:13 pm - It's been a zoo of a time around here. As soon as I first posted this, my BlackBerry (natch) exploded with calls and emails. This is now the top piece of news in Canada, and everyone wants to talk. First things first, I wrote this piece for Yahoo! Canada:

BlackBerry confirms layoffs, Q2 loss of nearly $1 billion

I also drove, um, quickly, to CTV London's studios to talk to Peter Akman for a report on the CTV National News, and Amanda Blitz in a live interview on CTV News Channel. I spoke with Tara Overholt in a package that aired on the 6 o'clock news, and was included in a package aired by Nicole Lampa on CTV Kitchener - BlackBerry's hometown station.

Somewhere along the way, I spoke with AM980 London as I zinged back to the studio on campus at Western University. I recorded clips for CBC's The National (Havard Gould) and Global National (Jennifer Tryon), and did a live hit with CBC Radio Toronto's Gill Deacon on the Here and Now program.

There's way more to come, including a live hit with Newstalk 1010's Friendly Fire program directly from the site of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's Ford Fest, and an interview with BBC Radio just before tuck-in.

OMG, some days I need someone to pinch me. Then thank my wife, who literally makes all of this - this unbelievably cool media world of mine - possible.