Apple need not reveal Jobs' medical leave details

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple may already have told investors all it needs to about Steve Jobs's health problems in its statement yesterday that he was granted a leave of absence, according to three securities law experts.

“They don't have to say any more than the fact that he's taking a leave, it's indefinite, if that's what it is,” James Cox, a Duke University law professor, said yesterday. “Then they can express lots of generalized optimism which is not going to get them into trouble because that's the kind of expected puffery for which there's no actionable claims to speak of.”

Jobs took a leave of absence as his health deteriorates from battling a rare form of cancer and the effects of a liver transplant he had almost two years ago, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Jobs, who took leaves for cancer surgery in 2004 and the transplant in 2009, has been unable to keep on weight as he undergoes treatment for his conditions, said the person, who requested anonymity because the matter is private.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission probed the Cupertino, California-based phone- and computer-maker's statements about Jobs's health in 2009. Yesterday, the company released an e-mail in which Jobs told Apple employees that he was granted a medical leave ofabsencetofocusonhishealth.

“The SEC hasn't provided any guidance on this,” said Peter Henning, a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit and a former federal prosecutor . “The last time this happened they did announce that they were going to investigate the disclosure and then we heard nothing else from them.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission started a review of the disclosures to ensure investors weren't misled, a person familiar with the matter said in 2009. John Nester, an SEC spokesman, declined to comment yesterday on the results of the probe of Apple's disclosures.

Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will be responsible for day-to-day operations, with Jobs continuing as CEO, Apple said yesterday, citing an e-mail to employees from Jobs.

“I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can,” Jobs, 55, said in the email . Jobs said he will continue to “be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.”

U.S. stock futures signaled losses for benchmark indexes after Apple's announcement. Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index , of which Apple makes up 21 percent, sank to 2,295.25 at 8:12 a.m. today in Tokyo, down 1.1 percent from their close on Jan. 14. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March slipped 0.3 percent from their close last week. Apple, which rose last week to a record in New York, slid 6.2 percent in Germany yesterday, when U.S. exchanges were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The announcement may spur a decline for Apple and computermakersafterthecompanyrallied 319 percent since March 2009, according to Michael Yoshikami, who owns the shares and oversees $1 billion at YCMNet Advisors in Walnut Creek, California. Securities laws require Apple to disclose developments that a reasonable investor would consider to be important, Henning said in a phone interview.