• Financial Times, Yahoo Finance, San Jose Mercury News, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, January 6, 2009 11 AM

It tells you something that Apple's stock rose yesterday upon the publication Monday of an open letter from Steve Jobs in which he disclosed that he has a hormone imbalance. Jobs says that a relatively simple remedy will enable him to continue as CEO during his recovery, Chris Nuttall reports. "A hormone imbalance ... has been 'robbing' me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy," Jobs wrote.

"We believe this unusually frank statement should help focus investor attention away from leadership succession and towards Apple's keynote address at Macworld this week and possible product introductions," analysts at Standard & Poor's Equity Research responded while reiterating their "strong buy" rating for Apple.

But San Jose Mercury News columnist Chris O'Brien was not alone in suggesting that the disclosures did not go far enough. Among the five points he makes, he says that Apple still needs to "acknowledge that Jobs' health is a material issue."

To that end, he says, it should issue timely disclosures of his condition. "If Jobs wants to keep his privacy, he's entitled to do that. But in that case, he should step aside, focus on getting better, and let someone else take the helm."

Business Week's headline poses the question: "Was Apple 'Adequate But Late' On Jobs?" It says that corporate governance experts are also debating whether Apple has been as forthcoming as necessary and whether it needs to make regular updates about Jobs' health. For his part, Jobs will have none of it. "So now I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this," his letter concludes.

If you want to weigh in on the issue, and you're a Wall Street Journal subscriber, the forum topic "Should Steve Jobs have spoken out sooner about his health?" has been up and running since September .

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