SEC Investigating False Report on Jobs’ Heart Attack

With Apple confirming that its CEO had not actually suffered a heart attack, as reported on CNN's citizen journalist Web site iReport, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is now carrying out an investigation. According to Bloomberg, the agency's enforcement is aiming to determine whether or not the posting was intended to push down the company's stock price. To do this, CNN is cooperating in the SEC probe, network spokeswoman Jennifer Martin said.

Apple's shares fell as much as 5.4 percent on Friday after the post on iReport cited an anonymous source saying Jobs had been rushed to the hospital after suffering a “major heart attack.” The report has since been removed.

Ever since Jobs health has been questioned first, Apple used several of its spokesmen to dismiss allegations according to which he was in bad shape. The company once stated that Jobs' health was a “private matter.” However, some feel differently about it. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean at Yale University's School of Management and owner of Apple shares since 1997, stated, “Leaving it to rumor and speculation is reckless. If he is healthy, they should say so. If he's not, we should know that too.”

As we reported before, Apple's success is greatly associated with Steve Jobs, who issues high-profile product introductions for the company. His health is very important to the shareholders. The fact that Apple is secretive about everything surrounding its business, including its CEO's health, can potentially damage Apple's image.

"...The extraordinary degree to which Apple's recovery and continued success is associated with Mr. Jobs has made it unique in the eyes of shareholders," reads an NY Times report. A. M. Sacconaghi Jr., a securities analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein said, "These are material questions given that his footprint is all over the company. The fact is, if you're a C.E.O. of a public company you're a public figure."