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Q: Isn't Jobs' health something Apple's investors accept when they buy the stock? A: Not necessarily, Elson says. Investors who bought the stock since the cancer was first disclosed in 2004 had to consider his health. But Elson points out that Apple may have investors who bought the stock long before that. Elson also says that the reason for disclosure rules is to make sure material information is "fully and fairly" disseminated. "We don't want there to be exceptions to the rules for individual companies," Elson says. "The American (regulatory) system requires disclosure on the part of everyone." Even though Apple doesn't have to disclose more, shareholders might respond positively to an increase in transparency. "It can be in your best interest to disclose more, because then it gives shareholders less opportunity to guess," says Frank Bulter, a professor of management at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and co-author of the recent academic paper, "When the CEO is Ill, Keeping Quiet or Going Public." Q: How have investors reacted to Apple's news -- and lack of it? A: The company's stock has fluctuated along with Jobs' health since 2004, when he first disclosed he had cancer, but the latest announcement didn't have as big an effect as some analysts had predicted. On Tuesday, Apple's shares slid $7.83 a share, or about 2.3 percent, to $340.65 in the first day of trading on news of Jobs' leave of absence. It made some of that back in extended trading after Apple reported strong quarterly results. The decline was sharper -- nearly 12 percent -- between Jan. 5, 2009, the day Jobs said his weight loss was due to a hormone imbalance, and Jan. 15, the day after he said he will go on medical leave for health problems that were more complex than he thought. The stock's value has quadrupled since, and Apple's market capitalization is now second only to Exxon Mobil Corp. among public U.S. companies. Q: Are other companies currently dealing with the disclosure of health issues differently? A: Alexa Perryman, a professor of management at the Neely School of Business at Texas Christian University, points to American International Group. The insurance giant, which is owned largely by the U.S. government, disclosed in October that CEO Robert Benmosche had cancer. The company did not say what kind of cancer but said he was undergoing chemotherapy. It also said he was continuing a normal schedule. Two days after the announcement, the company said it was reviewing its succession plan in case his status changes. It said that the chairman of the board, Steve Miller, would become interim CEO until a long-term replacement was named if that action becomes necessary. "AIG made a nice step forward with its disclosure," says Perryman, who co-authored the paper on CEO illness disclosures with Butler.
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