Steve Jobs Speaks Out on His Health

Does the health of a C.E.O. matter? With rumors about Steve Jobs' health mounting again after it was announced he wouldn't appear at Macworld this week, Apple has decided it does. This morning, the company and its C.E.O. put out a statement about his health, saying he would stay on as C.E.O. through treatment.

In the letter included in the release, Jobs wrote, "As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my No. 1 priority. Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause -- a hormone imbalance that has been 'robbing' me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis."

Jobs says recovery is expected to last through the spring and signed off with some exasperation: "So now I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this."

The market responded favorably, sending Apple shares up 3 percent in early morning trading.
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