Apple's Jobs taking another medical leave

Apple co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs announced he was taking another medical leave of absence on Monday, 18 months after returning to the company following a liver transplant.

Wall Street was closed for a holiday but the announcement that the iconic technology executive was facing renewed health issues sent Apple shares tumbling in Frankfurt, where they lost 8.44 percent to 238.25 euros ($316.63).

"At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health," Jobs said in a three-paragraph email to Apple employees which did not specify his latest medical concerns.

Jobs, 55, the Silicon Valley legend behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod, iPhone and iPad, said he would continue as chief executive "and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company."

He said chief operating officer Tim Cook, who took over when Jobs went on nearly six months of medical leave in January 2009, would be "responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations" during his absence.

"I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011," he said.

"I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can," said Jobs, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004. "In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy."

Questions about Jobs' health have resurfaced periodically since the cancer diagnosis, and have been the subject of much debate among corporate governance experts over the obligations the company has to its shareholders.

"Critics have contended that because he is such an aggressive, hands-on manager and engineered Apple's runaway success in recent years, it is crucial for shareholders to be better apprised of his health problems," TheStreet.com said.

Noting that Jobs is "considered nearly the sole architect of Apple's huge success," Douglas McIntyre of 247WallSt.com said "forecasts that Apple's shares may hit $450 or $500 will have to be put off, perhaps indefinitely."

Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle said Cook, the COO, has proved to be a competent manager but the challenge to the company without Jobs is "what will Apple do next?"

"That is probably where Steve Jobs is going to be much missed," he said.

Jobs underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and received a liver transplant in Tennessee while on medical leave in 2009. He returned to public view in September 2009 looking gaunt but healthy.

The announcement of Jobs' latest health issues came with US markets closed for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday. Apple shares tumbled in late 2008 when rumors swirled about his health after he failed to show at the Macworld Expo.

Apple's share price has surged recently, however, and in May, it surpassed Microsoft as the largest US technology company in terms of market value.

Apple shares closed at a record high of $348.48 on Wall Street on Friday.

The company is scheduled to release its fiscal 2011 first quarter results after the markets close on Tuesday.

Apple's fortunes have been uniquely linked to Jobs, who returned to the then flagging company in 1997 after a 12-year absence and introduced innovative and wildly successful products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Britain's Financial Times last month named Jobs its "Person of the Year" and even US President Barack Obama joined in the plaudits to the chief executive of the Cupertino, California-based gadget-maker.

"We celebrate somebody like a Steve Jobs, who has created two or three different revolutionary products," Obama said.

Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple in 1976 and introduced the first Macintosh computer in 1984 along with innovations such as the computer mouse.

Jobs left Apple in 1985 after an internal power struggle and started NeXT Computer and Academy-Award-winning Pixar, maker of hit animated films such as "Toy Story."

Since Jobs' 1997 return, Apple has gone from strength to strength, starting with the iMac in 1998, the iPod in 2001, iTunes in 2003, the iPhone in 2007, the App Store in 2008 and the iPad last year.