The New York Post reports that concerns remain over Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs health after he appeared thin at recent developers conferences. This is making investors nervous since it's not likely that anyone can do as good a job as Apple CEO. And Apple's board may have a duty to report on Jobs' health if he can't perform his duties.

I became familiar with this legal requirement two years ago when questions were raised to me about the health of Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) CEO, Bruce Wasserstein. The basic requirement for a board is unclear. As I wrote: "it appears that there are two conflicting points of view on the topic. On the one hand, the illness of the CEO -- particularly one as highly regarded as Wasserstein -- is material information under Regulation Fair Disclosure (FD) that could cause an investor to sell if it was disclosed. On the other hand, laws such as The Health Insurance Portability Act (HIPAA) protect the privacy of employee medical records."

In 2003, Jobs had a bout with pancreatic cancer. He recently appears to have lost a significant amount of weight according to the Post. In the case of Jobs, he seems to be appearing in public and doing his job, but the prospect that he might soon be out of Apple's developing picture does not bode well for investors. The lack of comment from Apple seems ominous to me. Meanwhile, Apple is expected to report EPS of $1.08 on revenue of $7.36 billion, according to First Call estimates.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

Is Apple's board lax in reporting on Jobs's health? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

FT.com reports that last Thursday my brother William D. Cohan's The Last Tycoons beat out Alan Greenspan's The Age of Turbulence to win the 2007 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

Reportedly Greenspan had his public relations firm arrange for him to fly to London on a private jet and to have a limousine at his disposal. At the last minute Greenspan canceled his trip to London but not without preparing a video of his acceptance speech. Alas poor Alan -- his video was for naught.

While Rachel Lomax, deputy governor of the Bank of England and one of the judges, said Greenspan's book was "source material for future historians as well as an entertaining read," The Last Tycoons was judged to have provided "the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues," in line with the official aim of the award.

Continue reading Lazard book beats out Greenspan's for 2007 FT/Goldman book award

Lazard book beats out Greenspan's for 2007 FT/Goldman book award originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last month I attended a party at which one of the attendees noted that she had recently seen Wasserstein at a social event. According to her, Wasserstein was stooped and appeared much more frail than his 59 years would suggest. At this party, my brother, William D. Cohan's New York Times best-selling book on Lazard, The Last Tycoons, was prominently displayed.

But his move to buy shares in Lazard -- although a fraction of his holdings -- is obviously trying to send a signal to investors about his view of the firm's prospects. If the current credit crunch persists, it could have trouble doing LBO deals. The question is whether its debt restructuring practice could take up the slack.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Lazard.

Wasserstein buys Lazard shares originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The reviews of my brother William D. Cohan's book, The Last Tycoons, on Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) have varied depending on reviewers' economic ties to LAZ. Reviewers who depend on LAZ executives for access or deal flow tended to trash the book. Those who lacked such ties seemed to like it.

I have particularly enjoyed listening to my brother tell one incredible story after another about the fascinating foibles of the "great men" of Lazard. If you're interested in the out-sized personal lives, art collections, real estate, and cigar smoking habits of a group of world-shaping financiers, you will find it hard to put down The Last Tycoons.

But those who depend on LAZ's CEO, Bruce Wasserstein, or other power brokers with ties to the firm do not share my view. For example:

Continue reading Did Lazard flex its muscles to shape book's reviews?

Did Lazard flex its muscles to shape book's reviews? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 May 2007 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.