Apple CEO Steve Jobs resigns

In a shocking, but really, not all that surprising move, longtime Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, has stepped down from his position, and will be the Chairman of the Board. Current COO Tim Cook has been appointed CEO in Jobs place.

In his resignation letter to the Apple Board of Directors, Jobs said that the time has come when he feels that he cannot meet his day to day duties as Apple CEO. Jobs strongly recommended Cook to take his place, which the Board readily accepted.

Jobs, one of the original founders of Apple along with Steve Wozniak, has been CEO of the computer company since 1998, and has turned it around from being on the brink of financial collapse into the most valuable computer company in the world. In recent years, Jobs health has caused a number of concerns among investors that he would not be able to fulfill his duties, but Jobs pressed on as CEO, and now Apple is more successful than it has ever been. Jobs was notorious for having his hand in every project at Apple, and nothing made it to market without his approval.



While Tim Cook is likely a suitable candidate for the CEO position, he certainly does not have the legacy that Jobs possessed. Many have speculated that Apple would not be the same once Jobs left, but only time will tell if that turns out to be the case. Either way, Cook certainly has to fill some big shoes. It should be very interesting to watch Apple's moves over the next few months.

Apple is richer than the US Government

According to a recent report by the Financial Post, Apple has more cash than the U.S government. Apple reported the quarterly earnings of US$ 75.876 billion till the 25th of June 2011 . The U.S government reported total operating balance of US$ 73.768 billion on Thursday , which is lesser than Apple.

Apple has seen tremendous growth since they introduced their first iPhone in the year of 2007. According to the recent report from IDC, Apple still holds the 4th place, based on the worldwide mobile phone shipments in Q2 2011 and the shipments have increased 141.8% when compared to Q2 2010.

These figures are not directly comparable, since the U.S government’s balance amount is the amount of money they can spend before they hit the debts and the Apple’s earnings are the operating profits. Based on the market capitalization, Apple is the second largest company in the world after Exxon Mobil.