The Industry Standard - Apple will announce that Steve Jobs has no major health problems - Comments

As an Apple fan since our

John F. — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:02:37 -0700

As an Apple fan since our first Apple IIe and a shareholder, I've had my eye on this story just like everyone else... but hadn't found any plausibly clear details on what the actual health issue might be, until now: http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/06/13/steve-jobs-life-after-th...

And now that I've found it, I think I agree... that it's none of our business. And I join everyone else in wishing him well (though I still wouldn't mind if Apple had a succession plan... but then, how are they going to find a replacement or replacements for Jobs who meet the standard? When they brought in Sculley, that was a disaster... and, over at Microsoft, look at what a nitwit Steve Ballmer is proving to be).

Folks, it was a sad day

David Kuan — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:35:40 -0700

Folks, it was a sad day yesterday .... Steve Jobs has passed away. His 17 page orbituary was published by Bloomberg at 4:27pm Eastern.

http://gawker.com/5042795/bloomberg-runs-steve-jobs-obituary

@Eric, it depends on the

David Kuan — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:39:06 -0700

@Eric, it depends on the credibility value TIS place on the NYT journalist (Joe Nocera) who posted the article (link in earlier comments). If you feel that it is credible enough then this prediction can be judged favorably (100%).

In my opinion, I believe the NYT article is sufficient (as no other mainstream media outlet discredit the article nor a counter statement from Apple or Jobs).

Actually, @David Kuan, the

Eric Hill812251 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:13:00 -0700

Actually, @David Kuan, the more we discuss this topic internally, the more we debate the part of the prediction that states "or Jobs himself to officially announce" the more we are leaning towards closing this prediction. Late - yes. But the parsing of that sentence with the reports that have come out could warrant this prediction being shut down. Thoughts?

It's tasteless to talk about

steveballmer — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:12:39 -0700

It's tasteless to talk about this, I wish steve well.

For some reason all of this

Garrick Hileman932530 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:58:51 -0700

For some reason all of this reminded me of a piece Rich Karlgaard wrote a few years back on Jobs:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB111509083186723020.html?mod=opinion%255F...

@Eric, that is what puzzled

David Kuan — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:08:53 -0700

@Eric, that is what puzzled me. Could this be a deliberate "passing of information without the specifics" to avoid a public dislocure by Apple?

@David, we saw this today,

Eric Hill812251 — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:52:53 -0700

@David, we saw this today, too. This definitely muddies the waters for this prediction. Will Apple even feel the need to do more?

Well, check this out ... hot

David Kuan — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:44:28 -0700

Well, check this out ... hot off the press (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/business/26nocera.html?_r=2&sq=steve%2...) ... interview notes of Steve Jobs

"Because the conversation was off the record, I cannot disclose what Mr. Jobs told me. Suffice it to say that I didn’t hear anything that contradicted the reporting that John Markoff and I did this week. While his health problems amounted to a good deal more than “a common bug,” they weren’t life-threatening and he doesn’t have a recurrence of cancer. After he hung up the phone, it occurred to me that I had just been handed, by Mr. Jobs himself, the very information he was refusing to share with the shareholders who have entrusted him with their money."

Albeit, this does not satisfy the criteria "Apple Inc to make official statement", at the very least, we have been made aware that what Steve Jobs health problem is not life threatening and not recurrence of pancreatic cancer.

Maybe or maybe not Apple will officially make similar statements ....

Today's press on this

Garrick Hileman932530 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:55:53 -0700

Today's press on this issue:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/technology/23apple.html?partner=rssnyt...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121676630736975181.html

Alley Insider: "A source

Eric Hill812251 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:02:17 -0700

Alley Insider: "A source "close to Apple" told BusinessWeek that they have "near-certainty that Jobs’ cancer has not returned." And the NYT reports that "Jobs has reassured several people that he is doing well and that four years after a successful operation to treat a rare form of pancreatic cancer, he is cancer free."" Nothing official, but definitely promising.

Apple will announce that Steve Jobs has no major health problems

Garrick Hileman — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:15:25 -0700

Judgment on August 7, 2008: Based on community feedback and m much internal debate, we've decided to close this prediction out due to the article published in the NY Times. We wish Mr. Jobs well. Judged at S$100 -- The Industry Standard

The health of Apple CEO Steve Jobs continues to grab headlines. Health and other personal matters are normally off-limits, but this is an unusual case. Jobs is the chief executive officer of one of the most influential publicly traded technology companies. He's not only a steward of Apple Inc, he's also the visionary who has personally guided many of its most successful products to market – often shaking up entire sectors of the technology industry in the process.

Some observers doubt that Apple or Jobs will become more transparent about his health. Silicon Alley Insider's Peter Kafka notes that Steve “previously didn't disclose his cancer for 9 months” when he originally suffered from pancreatic cancer in 2003. Mr. Kafka goes on to say that Apple is unlikely to “quash the issue by issuing a comprehensive health report” because “Steve is unlikely to accept that level of public scrutiny.”

However, Andy Zaky of Seeking Alpha believes the recent speculation surrounding Mr. Jobs to be profits-driven hype:

"I for one believe some hedge fund(s) decided to manipulate Apple's stock price yesterday, and spread rumors about Steve Jobs’ questionable health (as if they're all physicians) via the New York Post article. Otherwise, how does one explain the highly "coincidental" "concern" over Steve Jobs' health that is raised on the day Apple happens to report earnings?"

It is a common practice for publicly traded companies to disclose any material information on the health of their executives, although the timing and nature of the disclosure can vary significantly. There is no required timetable for making disclosures of this nature. However, a failure to do so could represent a violation of the fiduciary responsibilities that executives and their board of directors have to their shareholders. There are also major privacy issues that could impact the timing of such a disclosure. And, Mr. Jobs is famously known to play by his own rules.

Prediction: Rampant speculation about Steve Jobs’ health and the ongoing concern from customers and investors will prompt Apple, Inc. or Jobs himself to officially announce that he has been found to be "healthy," and the pancreatic cancer diagnosed several years ago to be in complete remission. This is a prediction that this type of announcement will be made public by December 31, 2008. This prediction will remain open through Friday, December 26, 2008.

Note: At The Standard, we are very aware of the sensitivities surrounding this topic. We sincerely hope Mr. Jobs is indeed in good health, and do not want to pry into his private life. Jobs is a hero to many in the technology and business worlds, and among Apple fans is credited for saving Apple from creative and financial ruin in the 1990s.