Tech Blog Stirs Jobs Health Fears Ahead Of Macworld

pull out of the Macworld conference

In a series of grammatically stilted comments, Gizmodo's unnamed source suggests that Jobs' declining health forced Apple's hand, and that Apple's decision to cancel Jobs' keynote will help cushion the blow for investors when the "inevitable news comes later this spring".

While many Apple pundits have reasoned that Apple, which doesn't own the Macworld conference, is simply looking to escape the product launch expectations associated with the event, Gizmodo's source says Apple believes that without Jobs, Macworld will cease to be a major draw for the Apple community.

Gizmodo claims its source "has repeatedly been 100% correct before" with news and images of unreleased Apple products. However, Apple representatives told CNBC's Jim Goldman two weeks ago that Apple's decision to pull out of Macworld had nothing to do with Jobs' health, and the company repeated that statement to Goldman on Tuesday.

Regardless of the veracity of the latest Jobs health rumor, skittish investors made a brief but mad dash for the exits Tuesday afternoon, sending Apple shares down from $88 to $85 in less than 30 minutes. Apple shares made a moderate comeback to close at $86.29, but clearly, rumors about Jobs' health are plenty capable of moving the stock.

In his Tuesday blog post, CNBC's Goldman acknowledges that Apple has been less than forthcoming in providing details on Jobs' health or a clear leadership succession plan, but says that's no excuse for rumor-mongering.

"When Apple's got something material to report, I trust that it will. Meantime, unsourced garbage nuking its shares is just that," Goldman wrote.