Margareta Pagano: If Jobs is a genius, why isn't he talking about Apple's succession?

The group's shares are too vulnerable to fears for the founder's health With Barack Obama in Europe, the really big story gripping the US is the health of Steve Jobs, the genius head of Apple. The company's shares went into freefall last week on reports that Jobs was unwell again. Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's finance director, tried to dampen fears by saying his boss's health was a "private matter" when he was asked about it during the second-quarter results update. But Oppenheimer's comments had the reverse effect. Instead of pacifying Apple's small army of fans and bloggers, who watch Jobs's every move in minute detail, it set them screaming. They accused the company of secrecy, arguing that the chief executive's health is so critical to Apple's success that they should be told the truth. At the end of the week, the mystery... [read full story]