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Jobs Reportedly Had Liver Transplant; Role May Shift

The Journal's Yukari Iwatani Kane and Joann S. Lublin broke the news on Saturday that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had undergone a liver transplant in Tennessee a couple of months ago. Apple refused to confirm or deny the report but says that Jobs is on track to return to work by the end of June.

Bloomberg News' Connie Guglielmo and Joseph Galante, say that signs are growing that Apple can do fine without Jobs at the helm. "For investors, it would be better if Steve doesn't return to be as hands-on as he was," Michael Obuchowski, chief investment officer at First Empire Asset Management, tells them. "He has created a good team, and investors would be comfortable with that team and having Steve in more of an advisory role."

Although marketing experts, industry analysts and public relations executives say that Apple should have been more forthcoming about the condition of its CEO, the company doesn't appear to have missed a step when it comes to successfully making, marketing and selling products, writes John Boudreau in the San Jose Mercury News.

Indeed, the latest reports won't end speculation about Apple's succession plans, writes Business Week's Arik Hesseldahl. COO Tim Cook, who has led the execution of the company's extraordinary product strategy, is widely viewed as the heir apparent. Like a basketball great in the later years of his career, Jobs should think about sharing the limelight while continuing to do what he's a master at: leading product development and marketing, unveiling important products and being the negotiator who clinches the deal

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