Two very different companies made significant announcements last week. National Grid, the UK utility company, said it would no longer issue formal quarterly reports — an important piece of news for its investors, who took it in their stride. The next day, Apple gave its regular quarterly update. Investors sent the company’s share price soaring after learning that strong holiday sales pushed it to the largest profit of any public company in history.

The investors’ reactions raise two questions. Is the economy better served by frequent corporate reports, or by statements when meaningful events occur? And does the timing of reports contribute to short-term attitudes among investors and corporations?

A similar debate occurred 60 years ago when the US Securities and Exchange Commission first required companies to file half yearly reports. In a 1955 consultation, 68 out of the 70 letters in support of the SEC’s proposal came from investors and the securities industry; 57 of the 63 letters against came from corporations. Executives I spoke to in the City of London last week reflected the views of their 20th-century predecessors. The asset management industry divided between event-driven “volatility” types who feed off news; and longer-term fund managers who see quarterly reporting as a distraction.