Steve Jobs: Not Dead Yet

There are many unsettling things about yesterday’s brief and unseemly Bloomberg wire appearance, and then disappearance, of an obituary for Apple’s Steve Jobs -- not least of which is that he’s not dead yet -- but I was struck by this parenthetical instruction to reporters.

(IF STOCK DROPS): The decline is no surprise to investors and analysts, many of whom considered Jobs irreplaceable. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis had said if Jobs left the company for any reason, Apples stock might plummet as much as 25%.

There is something about that “(IF STOCK DROPS)” instruction that seems plain wrong to me.

Comments

[Brandon:]

I agree. Again I find it funny that SA is almost solely positive on this stock for a year and within the past month has turned almost solely negative on it.

2008 Aug 28 02:45 PM

[Jeremy Elliott:]

What the hell is the previous comment talking about? Reread, numb-scull. Kedrosky doesn't perpetuate squat. There are 45 articles out today noting this lapse by Bloomberg in temporarily opening up the draft version of the Jobs obituary--all of them point out that Mr. Jobs isn't dead. Hello? It's a given that--one--we're all going to die, and that--two--when Jobs does, AAPL will trade lower on the news. There's nothing new here. Please corn off, mrtaxx.

2008 Aug 28 02:48 PM

[Vox Rationalis:]

mrtaxx seems to do nothing but cheerlead for AAPL - perhaps he should be investigated for pumping and dumping...

[before you jump all over me, everybody else, it's a joke. You know, kind of like mrtaxx...]

2008 Aug 28 03:18 PM

[Sacto Joe:]

At what point does a "lapse" like this constitute something akin to a business version of shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre? Apple stock is dropping today in an up market. Coincidence?

This just doesn't pass the smell test, i.e., it stinks.

2008 Aug 28 03:23 PM

[Anonymous W...:]

I'm with you mrtaxx. We'll just report the garbage here when we see it which is market manipulation and let the SEC and Government agencies track down and decipher which shorts, manipulators, fraudsters should be investigated and prosecuted. It's so easy to report these guys and then the cards will fall where they may. If it's real reporting, you have nothing to worry about.

2008 Aug 28 06:17 PM

[Lisa:]

An earlier commenter wrote: "At what point does a "lapse" like this constitute something akin to a business version of shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre?"

Rumors about banks going under are crying "fire" in a crowded theater, because they cause a run on the bank which puts the bank out of business. Rumors (which this article wasn't in any case) about a company like Apple aren't, because the rumor doesn't damage its business.

If all the AAPL cheerleaders love the company and the stock (they often can't distinguish the two) as a long term investment, what do they care if it falls due to a false rumor? Surely it's a buying opportunity?

There seem to be a lot of nerves from these bulls...

2008 Aug 28 07:11 PM

[Lisa:]

One other point: what's so amazing about the AAPL cheerleaders is they didn't even read this article carefully enough to understand that Kedrosky was criticising Bloomberg, not only for publication of the obit (that led the stock to fall without cause) but for the ethics of the journalism.

2008 Aug 28 07:13 PM

[Anonymous W...:]

Once again, let the chips fall where they may. To deny that there is gross manipulation of Apple stock by all the spin is ignorant.

2008 Aug 28 08:57 PM

[jakedeez:]

appl is an ipod/3g story, try not to spend too much time thinking about the things that don't matter. If he did die, we should worry about it... if bloomberg goofs, don't worry man.

2008 Aug 28 09:28 PM

[Brandon:]

It pisses me off because the last 2 times Apple has been on the cusp of moving up big reports about Steve Jobs health arise. The stock hit 180 a few months back and these 'health issues' dropped the stock 15 points.

2008 Aug 28 11:38 PM

[kbear2:]

Lisa points out correctly that this article, while necessarily repeating the core of the issue, does question the additional 'instructions' relating to Apple stock price. That is just as unsettling as the initial 'mistake' and would only encourage the further sale of the stock.

2008 Aug 28 11:50 PM

[tuskagee:]

Believe me, every time this stock appears to be gaining ground, some sociopath will use the media to pull it back down to line his or her pockets. Kedrosky, Savitz, Cramer, et al, appear to be working collusively. Holding Apple stock through the obvious manipulation is difficult for the average investor, despite the fact that it's a fantastic company.

2008 Aug 29 07:59 AM

[October19:]

XHB is at 20 not 12 with a double bottom as you wrote

2008 Aug 29 08:39 AM

[brewer:]

"In case of drop", wording does sound like manipulation, there should be a required inquiry in a situation like this.

As if anyone really needs to be reminded who Jobs is or that the stock would be affected. Anyone on their staff could have written that in a minute, there is no need for a prewritten obit for such a well known business figure. How gullible do they think people are?

2008 Aug 29 11:14 AM

[hopeful inv...:]

I work at a newspaper. We have lots of these pre-written obits. In the internet age, you want to be able to get a story out as quickly as possible, so you need to be as prepared as you can. I would suspect that someone at Bloomberg was working on the article and hit the wrong button, which sent it to one of the Bloomberg services.

The "if stock drops" paragraph is just a time saver. The paragraph would be deleted if the stock didn't drop and probably updated a bit if it did. If you think about this, it may make you a bit skeptical about some of the analysis you read in our media. This would probably be healthy for your portfolio.

2008 Aug 30 11:44 AM