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Friday, October 03, 2008

Apple Denies Jobs Heart Attack Rumors

Matt Egan

FOXBusiness

Apple (AAPL) fought back at rumors that co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs had a heart attack, calling an Internet report “not true.”

Shares of Apple recovered from earlier declined caused by anxiety over the health of Jobs. The worries were sparked by an “iReport” from a citizen journalist on a Web site owned by CNN.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling told FOX Business: “The report is not true.”

Shares of Apple were recently up 4.4% to $104.50 after touching 52-week lows earlier in the session.

Apple’s stock has been dogged by repeated rumors of health problems for Jobs, who was successfully treated for pancreatic cancer four years ago. Over the summer, Jobs’s physical appearance fueled new fears he was dealing with more health problems. However, The New York Times recently reported that Jobs told Apple board members he is cancer-free.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg News caused a brief scare after accidentally releasing a lengthy obituary on the Apple co-founder. Jobs himself has taken a light-hearted tone about the issue, recently displaying a Mark Twain quote at a conference: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

The fluctuations in Apple’s stock price on the Jobs health rumors underscore the level of importance shareholders see in their chief executive.

Aside from the reports on Jobs, Apple’s stock price has been under pressure as Wall Street wonders how tech spending will hold up in a weakened economy. Barclays Capital slashed its price target on Apple on Friday by $45 to $135, citing economic weakness and other issues. Still, Barclays kept its “overweight” rating on Apple.