pcfd, The POINT is that he was vague in his letter... but he DID say he has lost BIG business. That is a very tangible event, and we are left with nothing BUT speculation. It's logic. Expecting shareholders to just think, "Oh, they lost a large client/deal, oh well. Who cares who it was. We don't need to know", is just plain unrealistic.
The only logical thought, IMO, is the cement deal because that is one of the few (the only) PR in which they blatantly gave the client name. Just guessing, though, obviously.
I think the deal may not have been lost, but this was just a clear signal to shareholders to back off (i.e. make the callers too uncertain/scared to call again).