Apple stock plunge as Jobs health dips again

Late last wednesday I the news hit the wire that Apple CEO Steve Jobs was taking a medical leave. I'm a little late in blogging, since I had to take a medical leave as well, but fortunately, a bad flu isn't as bad as Jobs is facing.

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs will take a medical leave of absence until the end of June because his health problems are “more complex” than he had thought, sending the company's shares down as much as 10 per cent on Wednesday.

Mr. Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, made his announcement only nine days after he sought to soothe persistent concerns about his health by saying his marked weight loss over past months was due to a hormone imbalance that was relatively simple to treat.

Mr. Jobs said he planned to remain involved in major strategic decisions while he is away. Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will take responsibility for day-to-day operations in Mr. Jobs's absence. [Globe and Mail]

Somehow the news featured in the Tech news sections as well as health news and economic news. Immediately the Apple stocks took a huge plunge as investors clearly see Jobs as the driving force behind the Apple success in the past years. Apple was down and out for the count about a decade ago and when Jobs returned, so did innovation and a range of products like the iPod and iPhone brought Apple out of its niche market to fashionable mainstream.

Dutch Cartoon Fokke and Sukke featured the news yesterday in the "De Wereld Draait Door" show on television. The image was taken from the Dutch iPhone Weblog. In English the cartoon reads: "No We'd like a Macbook as thin" "as Steve Jobs"