A Fool Looks Back

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz | More Articles
June 27, 2009 | Comments (2)

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Steve Jobs and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford have little in common, but their stories had similar arcs this week. Until coming clean later in the week, there was mystery and intrigue as to their recent whereabouts.

I have nothing to add about Sanford's Argentinean escapade, but let's talk about that liver transplant Jobs reportedly had performed in Tennessee.

Even though Jobs had taken an official leave of absence, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL ) investors may be wondering why they have to find out about the health concerns of their company's iconic sultan of style after the fact. Where do you draw the line between a private matter and something that should be disclosed?

This isn't an issue that is going to just go away. The rub here is that Apple has seemingly been humming along just fine in Jobs' absence. The new iPhones are a hit, and that comes at a time when Palm (Nasdaq: PALM ) and Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM ) have been cranking out compelling smartphone candy.

However, it just goes to show that Apple shareholders can't let go of Jobs, even if the company is fit enough to go on without any one single person. COO Tim Cook has been in charge during Jobs' absence.

Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR ) now has vending machines spitting out its signature K-Cup refills for its Keurig single-cup brewers. Is this one of the signs of the apocalypse? Premium coffee from an automaton? I guess it beat Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX ) to the robotic barista.
Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA ) and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX ) introduced TV Everywhere, a new model where television broadcasters and cable networks will work together with cable and satellite companies to deliver on-demand Web streams of content that subscribers are already paying for through their monthly cable and satellite television bills. It's going to be a great retention tool, at a time when consumers were thinking of dumping their cable programming entirely.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz

The Steve Jobs Betrayal
You may already know that in the final year of his life, Jobs revealed a stunning betrayal — and told his biographer, "I will spend my last dying breath... and every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong." What was it that made Jobs so irate — and why could it make a few in-the-know investors some major profits over the coming months and years?

Enter your email address below to find out what made Jobs so enraged!

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation. Apple and Starbucks are Motley Fool Stock Advisor selections. The Fool owns shares of Starbucks, which is also a Motley Fool Inside Value pick. Try any of our Foolish newsletters today, free for 30 days.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield wiper fluid when trying to look back. He does not own shares in any of the stocks in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.

Read/Post Comments (2) | Recommend This Article (7)

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

Report this Comment On June 27, 2009, at 1:19 PM, InfoThatHelp wrote:

I think Rim has the most to lose with a healthy Steve Jobs.
Report this Comment On June 28, 2009, at 2:35 PM, neal157 wrote:

Many writers are outraged that so many details of Jobs' illness were kept confidential. Yet, what would we have done with them? Can the average investor read a medical chart and determine a prognosis? Most people are still totally confused about the type of cancer Jobs had. Apple is historically affected by rumors more than actual facts. Those rumors are printed by the same writers who are now so indignant about lack of access to the man's private medical records. Are they concerned for the public, or just their own egos?

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