Steve Jobs is too sick to serve as CEO. At least for now.

Leave it to Apple to snatch shareholder-rights defeat from the jaws of victory. Not too long ago, we were praising Jobs for coming clean and admitting, amid gobs of speculation, that Jobs was ill. He referred to his sickness as a "hormone imbalance" that caused him to lose weight. He also said that treatment was fairly simple and he expected to recover by late spring.

Unfortunately, Jobs said Wednesday that he needs to step aside as CEO of Apple to undergo treatment.

But, yet again, it was the way Apple disclosed the news that was problematic for those looking for honest, straight-forward answers from the company.

First, Apple disclosed the illness in a letter from Jobs himself, where he first lamented that the "curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction." Only after complaining about all this speculation -- which was A) fueled by Apple's stubborn resistance to address it in the first place, and B) true -- did he say that "during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought."

Jobs is taking medical leave until the end of June. Tim Cook will run the company in the interim.

But Apple did leave a big question unanswered -- one that plays into the potential volatility of the stock: Is this indeed still just a hormone imbalance, or is it something deeper, perhaps related to his pancreatic cancer? There is no mention of the nature of his illness, or what made it more complex than he originally thought just a week ago.

That will be the source of much speculation over the next few months. Apple would be well-served giving updates on what hopefully becomes a full recovery.

Apple today released a letter from CEO Steve Jobs that lays out the state of his health. In a nutshell, Jobs is ill, but with what he describes as a "hormone imbalance that has been 'robbing' me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy." That is what has driven his weight loss over the past year.

Treatment is simple, Jobs says, and he expects to recover by late Spring.

Most important for investors: he will remain Apple's CEO during that time.

Apple had been criticized, even here, for not disclosing the state of Jobs's health, amid legitimate questions over his fitness to lead the company. Apple had declined to address the issue, saying they would "let us know" if he were unable to serve as CEO.

That approach only fueled more speculation, and, in some cases, wild rumors -- which accelerated over the past few weeks. Jobs, after all, is a rare survivor of pancreatic cancer.

Now, Apple can put those rumors to rest. Jobs is indeed ill, but with something that is highly treatable. His illness is not expected to interfere with his role. Those are details vital to shareholders, despite Jobs still saying his health is "very personal." 

Good for Apple for finally addressing the issue.