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October 3, 2008 9:19 AM PDT

Jobs heart attack rumor not true, Apple stock swings

by Tom Krazit

Apple CEO Steve Jobs did not suffer a heart attack Friday morning, as was briefly reported by CNN.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET News)

Apple has denied a rumor posted on CNN's iReport page that Steve Jobs suffered a heart attack Friday morning.

The unsubstantiated rumor, posted on the "citizen journalism" section of CNN called iReport, caused a sharp drop in Apple's stock price around 7 a.m. PDT before company representatives were able to deny the charge. Blogs such as Silicon Alley Insider initially published the rumor as written on CNN with the 21st century fig leaf--a question mark at the end of the headline--but updated its story after hearing from Apple representatives. CNN has since removed the post in question.

It's not hard to imagine this was a brazen attempt to move Apple's stock price to someone's benefit, and an investigation will probably follow. The episode is eerily similar to one last year in which Engadget was sent a fake e-mail claiming to be from an Apple employee that the release of the iPhone and Mac OS X Leopard had been delayed. And it also smacks of the "hedge fund sources" quoted by the media earlier this year questioning Jobs' health based on his appearance.

Updated: Courtesy of our friends at ZDNet, here's a screen grab of the actual post that appeared on CNN's iReport site.

(Credit: ZDNet)
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom.
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by AppleSuxLeo October 3, 2008 9:42 AM PDT
AAPL has lost over 40B Market Cap. in one week and only got a "dead-cat-bounce" today. Yesterday was one of the worst days ever for the NASDAQ and MSFT only dropped a FEW CENTS , while AAPL dropped $9 , right after Nokia made thei European music/phone anouncement. We hav not seen the bottom on AAPL yet. It still has a ways to drop. AAPL $40 ? Bwahahahaha !
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by ckurowic October 3, 2008 10:28 AM PDT
okay dude you are freaking lame.
by skillingssucks October 3, 2008 11:01 AM PDT
Unbelievably lame. To the point of being mentally disturbed.
by AppleSuxLeo October 3, 2008 11:24 AM PDT
Well...AAPL "dead cat bounce" is over , they just dropped again ! Just pointing out how fragile and not needed Apple is. In these tough economic times , it will be 1987 all over again for AAPL.
by technewsjunkie October 3, 2008 2:00 PM PDT
Get a life.
by ewelch October 3, 2008 2:56 PM PDT
Ghoul, loser, all sorts of words come to mind when such a comment is posted.

But the best is no doubt, childish.
by pkeane34 October 3, 2008 9:57 AM PDT
Steve Jobs represents difference, change, hope, innovation and our hope for the future. I wish him well. I hope he is not lost to us. In the Pantheon of the God's of our age he bestrides the stage. Greatness comes to few of us Be well.
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by joetesta70 October 3, 2008 10:09 AM PDT
Please. $teve, take your greedy a$$ and do something with your billions that's good for the world like Gates, Dell and others do.

Otherwise good riddance!
by bonesbautista October 3, 2008 10:02 AM PDT
I'm guessing that a bunch of people are bashing AAPL with rumormongering to get the price down again. With all of the SEC investigations starting up and going on, stock bashing really seems like a really, really dumb game to play.
Reply to this comment
by joetesta70 October 3, 2008 10:08 AM PDT
His heart runs OSX. It's due for an attack.
Reply to this comment
by ckurowic October 3, 2008 10:29 AM PDT
Okay windows fan boy. If you like using your craptastic "OS" from microjunk then go to a ms fanboy site, well wait a minute, CNET is a ms fanboy site....
by jahrends October 3, 2008 1:22 PM PDT
I think you got that a little wrong. If his heart ran on OSX it would be good quite past when the rest of his organs failed. Now if Bill Gate's Heart ran on Windows he would not have made it a week.
by sflocal October 3, 2008 10:18 AM PDT
I really hope they catch the guy posting that rumor. This just reeks of stock manipulation.
Reply to this comment
by zmonster October 3, 2008 10:51 AM PDT
The people responsible for this fraud will be held accountable.
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by mcian82 October 3, 2008 11:24 AM PDT
Regardless of Apple's stock price, they are one of the few companies that push innovation to the edge regardless what their stock prices are. They had failures and successes but without trying, they would be just another run of the mill company. Switching processors twice and the OS once was painful but if they did not do it, we would have ended up with a patched up product like Windows.
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by Kwasiowusu October 3, 2008 1:27 PM PDT
Well stock prices are always open to price swings on rumors and speculation. Its part of what markets are like. But even without the Jobs rumours, Apple stock has been sliding downwards for some time, with current market cap down to $86 Billion. It will hit a bottom and start going up again, like most good stocks do. Normal up and down sings in the market.
Having said all that I wish Steve Jobs the best of health..
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by blakestar October 3, 2008 4:22 PM PDT
Geez. How many times will Steve Jobs die in his lifetime? We've already read his obituary. This is just ridiculous. Give the man a break.
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by AppleSuxLeo October 3, 2008 10:23 PM PDT
Jobs has a heart attack...and now AAPL is suffering from hemorrhagic shock.
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by AppleSuxLeo October 3, 2008 10:34 PM PDT
AAPL stock swings ??? It swung into the toilet at $97...quite a swing , Cnet ;)
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by trd1282 October 4, 2008 12:53 AM PDT
If you are dumb enough to bail on apple, you are fooling yourself. For those of you who buy extra shares now, you will be rewarded when it swings back to $140, kudos...
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by January 22, 2009 8:47 PM PST
THE FIRST STEP TO MAKE, IS TO CAME BACK ALL CES-ELECTRONICS BACK TO THE FACTORY BECAUSE A DANGEROUS PRODUCTION FOLD IS HAPPENS. THE BUSINESSES MUST SPEAK EACH OTHER TO CAME BY THE POINT, EVERY PLUGG IN MUST PLUG INTO EVERY PLUG IN, ALL MARKS PASTE INTO ALL OTHER MARKS, THE GUARANTEE PAPERS NEED TO SEND UP TO THE SECRETARIAT TO GET A STAMP, I LIKE A FAST MOVE FROM MICROSOFT TO PROVIDE ME ON CASH FOR THE CONTROLLING SECRETARIAT TO BUILD AT ST.LENAARTS NEXT TO BRECHT TO CHECK OR ALL IMPUTS AND OUTPUTS HAVE THE SAME PLUGG IN. THESE MUST HAVE THE SAME PLUGG IN AND NEVER MAY A PHONE THAT IS MAKED BY ALL MOBILE PHONE MAKERS PASTE INTO THE SAME IMPUT OR OUTPUT, CAUSE THESE IS THE REAL DANGER.
TO CAME TO THE CES-NETWORK IS MEANS, THE ELECTRONICS CES ARE GOING TRUE THE CONTROLLING DEPARTEMENT, WHERE GET A STAMP INTO THE WARRANTY PAPERS, AFTER THESE ARE CHECKED. ALL MUST CAME BY ONE SIMPLE CONECTION THAT CAN INTO THE IMPORT AND INTO THE EXPORT PLUG IN AT BOTH SITES THESE WILL SAY BOTH SITES FROM THE CABLE MUST HAVE THE SAME IMPUT AND OUTPUT WITH THE SAME PLUGG IN, CAUSE IT IS EASY; THESE PLUG IN MUST HAVE A OTHER SIZE THAN ALL OTHER CABLES EARLY MAKED, THESE MUST DIFFERENTS AND MAY NOT HAVE THE POSSEBILITY TO PLUGG INTO A PLUG IN HOLE MAKE BEFORE. FOR THE CONECTION WHERE ALWAYS IS STRAIGHT GOING TO, IS TO MAKE ALL ELECTRONICS THAT PAST THE CONTROLL ARE WRITE IN AND RIGHT KNOW AS A CES-NETWORK GOING PAST OR TAKE BACK TO FACTORY TO WASTE AND MAKE THE RIGHT. THE CES-NETWORK MUST MAKE ALL ELECTRONICS COMPATIBLE FOR ALL MARKETS, SO START TEACH EACH OTHERS THE ELECTRONICA WHO IS THE MOST COMPATIBLE. ALSO HIGH PRIORITY TO LOOK CAREFULL AT, IS THAT A CONNECTION CABLE TO PLUG INTO ALL MARKS COMPATIBLE, NEVER MAY PAST INTO A ELECTRONIC PRODUCT HANGING ON THE ENERGY-NETWORK OR ELECTRICITY NETWORK. ALL CES-ELECTRONICS ARE CAME BACK TO THE FACTORIES, OR ARE CALL BACK AT THE CLIENTS WHEN FILL IN THE GUARANTEE PAPERS, TO SAY TO PLUGG NOT INTO AN OTHER PLUG IN CAUSE CAN BLOW UP. ALSO THE CES-NETWORK CONTROLLED PRODUCTS MUST HAVE A SAFETY AROUND, WHERE CAN CAME NO AIR TRUE AND THESE MUST INTO A SAVE CAPSULE THAT CARE THE MAGNETIC FIELD, BECAUSE THE FORCE IS LOAD UP BY TURNING. EVERY ELECTRONIC MUST HAVE THE SAME PLUGG TO PLUGG EVERYTHING INTO EACHOTHER AS END PRODUCT, BUT NEVER AND NEVER PLUG INTO A ELECTRONIC THAT IS HANGING WITH THE ELECTRICITY POINT INTO THE NETWORK WHERE PLANTS CAN GET OVERHIT FROM BECAME.
THESE IS NO END FROM THESE CES-ELECTRONICS;
THESE IS ONLY A ONE TIME TAKE BACK FROM ALL PROTOTYPES AND ON ALL THINGS IS TOUGHT BY THE SECOND LOUNGE.
THESE SAYS AGAIN, THAT CES-ELEKTRONICS ARE NO PLAY TOOL. FIRST THE SECURITY RULLES MUST CHECKED BY THE DEVELOPPER WHO MAKE US ATTEND ON YUST ON TIME, CAUSE SOME PLANTS HAS ALLREADY DIFFICULTS.
IT IS JUST THE FIRST LAUNGE, THE SECOND LAUNGE SHALL EVERYTHING ALLRIGHT AND IS THERE NO FAIR FOR BLOW UP ANY MORE.
I SAY , THE PLUG IN MUST THE SAME AS THE OTHER SITE AND MUST HAVE A WAIRED POINT, CAUSE MAY NOT FIT INTO OTHER ELECTRONICS EVER MAKED. THESE NEW SECOND LAUNGE MUST FIT ONLY ALL SECOND LOUNGE AND AFTER LOUNGE PLUG IN TO EACH OTHER AND MUST WORK. LAY DOWN ALL ELECTRONIC PLANS INTO THESE SITE ON SCREEN/
AND THE TURNING AROUND MAY HAS NO TURNING AROUND CAME OUT THE CAPSULE WHERE TURNS IN. T
THESE MUST BE WATERPROOF AND MUST AIR CLOSED FOR ALL HEAVY ELECTRONIC SCHOKS AND FOR THE WORLD HOW TURN ARROUND. THE SECOND LOUNGE FILL IN ALWAYS THE GUARANTEE PAPERS WITH THE CLIENTS AND MUST ON MORE PLACES INTO THE WORLD TOGHETER SET ON ON TO TEST THE NEXT LOUNGE, WHERE IS LOOKED AT ALL SAFETY CODES AND THE SAME HOLES FOR THE PLUGG IN WHERE MUST UNIEK
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