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Bloomberg financial newswire decided to update its 17-page Steve Jobs obituary today — and inadvertently published it in the process. Some investors were undoubtedly rattled to see, as our tipster did late this afternoon, the Apple CEO's obit cross the wire and then suddenly disappear. Jobs's battle with pancreatic cancer, and speculation over his health, jarred Wall Street earlier this year and continues to be the subject of speculation. The Times weighed in on the matter as recently as last month, when

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columnist Joe Nocera spoke with the secretive tech executive. But news organizations routinely prepare obituaries in advance, even for the healthy. And if Bloomberg readers had seen the internal story slug, "testjobs," their jitters might have abated. The obit, which we've obtained and reprinted after the jump, is a bit macabre to read but should not scare you out of your Apple shares. (UPDATE: Bloomberg has "retracted" its obituary, and the retraction is also after the jump.) More interesting are the accompanying notes for Bloomberg reporters! The obituary contains nothing to indicate Bloomberg has new information on Jobs's health, at least in our quick skim. But the reporting notes do reveal that near the top of Bloomberg's list of people to call in event of his death is Jobs's ex girlfriend Heidi Roizen (quite the Valley switchboard, apparently) and California attorney general and (like Jobs) cranky aging hippie Jerry Brown. Also, Bloomberg doesn't seem to have many people's cell phone numbers. Retraction: Story Referencing Apple Was Sent in Error by Bloomberg News Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) — An incomplete story referencing Apple 2 of 23

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Inc. was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27 p.m. New York time today. The item was never meant for publication and has been retracted. —Editor: Joe Winski, Cesca Antonelli Steve Jobs obituary: JOB, STEVE. APPLE FOUNDER, TECH VISIONARY. UPDATED AUGUST 2008 HOLD FOR RELEASE - DO NOT USE - HOLD FOR RELEASE - DO NOT USE Steve Jobs's birthday: Feb. 24, 1955 BIO UPDATED AS OF 2008, by Connie Guglielmo APPLE PR CONTACTS: Katie Cotton — -redactedand Steve Dowling: -redacted- or -redactedPeople to contact for comment: - Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak: -redacted- Jon Rubinstein, former head of Apple's iPod division. He's now chairman at Palm. Contact Lynn Fox in PR. - Heidi Roizen: venture capitalist who once dated Jobs: -redacted- or -redacted-. Heidi knows a lot of Silicon Valley insiders and may put us in touch with

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others, including A.C. Mike Markkula, the first VC to back Apple. - Larry Ellison of Oracle (one of his best friends); contact Deborah Hellinger in Oracle PR. -redacted-, -redacted- Jerry Brown (personal friend) and California AG. Try GARETH LACY at -redacted- IN OAKLAND; -redactedCELL, -redacted- or press office: -redacted- Al Gore: member of Apple's board of directors - Bill Gates: Microsoft was among the first developers of Mac software - Bob Iger at Disney: who bought Pixar from Jobs - Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google and member of Apple's board. Send note to -redacted- or try David Krane: -redacted- or -redacted- Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel Corp. (Apple began using Intel chips in its Macs in 2006). Contact Tom Beermann: -redacted- or Bill Calder on -redacted-. Both in Intel PR - Scott McNealy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Contact Shawn Dainas in PR: -redacted- John Lassiter and Ed Catmull: Pixar-nee-Disney

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executives. Try Zenia Mucha, -redacted- or Jonathan Friedland, -redacted-, in corporate PR at Disney. - Guy Kawasaki, one of the first Apple evangelists. -redacted- or -redacted- Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, who bought an early circuit board for the game Breakout from Jobs and Wozniak. (pr is being handled by his daughter, Alisa Bushnell. her cell is: -redacted-; work is -redactedwork/message;-redacted-)

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To contact the reporter on this story:

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Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco at-redactedor -redactedTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Cesca Antonelli at -redacted- or -redactedAAPL US CN MSFT US CN DIS US CN NI TEC NI CPR NI COS NI US NI CA NI LEI NI OBIT NI WNEWS NI RET NI MUSIC NI CONS NI ENT

COMMENTS Bell County at 10:10 PM on 08/27/08

Macabre? Is that a pun, Ryan? I like. MattGaymon at 10:11 PM on 08/27/08

In other news, 17 of my friends just downloaded Facebook for iPhone.

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Ryan Tate at 10:17 PM on 08/27/08

@Bell County: iThinkSo! nickyboyee at 10:18 PM on 08/27/08

iDeath Sproing at 10:21 PM on 08/27/08

DRMIP The Doctor at 10:22 PM on 08/27/08

This happened to me once, but it was my mother doing the updating. Also, no one cared. Aaron Altman at 10:23 PM on 08/27/08

@The Doctor: Mama Doctor has a Tumblr? Do tell! The Doctor at 10:28 PM on 08/27/08

@Aaron Altman: Hardly. She still sends me "emails" via Telex. And she released my obit to some random paper in Maryland, so it doesn't count. Seeräuber Jenny at 10:32 PM on 08/27/08

Ryan, word's circulating that Bloomberg has an article with the slug "testtate". Have you made a will? (Poor Pun Alert.) Re Jobs, rumors of his demise have kinda-sorta been exaggerated? If I'd read through that entire draft obit, I'd be dead myself. I'll wait until it's published, which I hope won't be necessary for a while. 11 of 23

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Aaron Altman at 10:38 PM on 08/27/08

Katie Cotton and Steve Dowling are having fun right about... now. And now. And now. And now. PHONES STOP RINGING PLEASE! friend_of_a_friend at 10:43 PM on 08/27/08

I'm not a journalist so can someone help me out with this paragraph? Steve Jobs, who helped make personal computers as easy to use as telephones, changed the way animated films are made, persuaded consumers to tune into digital music and refashioned the mobile phone, has XXXX. What's the placeholder for? Has died, has passed-away, has spontaneously combusted, has entered nirvana? Aaron Altman at 10:43 PM on 08/27/08

@The Doctor: Oh my GOD, Doctor. You weren't kidding. [www.citypaper.com] Aaron Altman at 10:44 PM on 08/27/08

@friend_of_a_friend: ...has died. He was XX. cassandra at 10:47 PM on 08/27/08

The best part is that Jobs doesn't have to die to read his own obit. That guy gets all the breaks. I wish they revealed what Jobs didn't die of, 12 of 23

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though. They thought they'd call Bill Gates for comment on the death of Steve Jobs? REALLY?? That's like calling Bill Clinton on news that Cheney was hospitalized. realnicegirl at 10:48 PM on 08/27/08

When I worked at the Times I would often take obits off the server for a read after the 2nd edition closed. As everyone knows that is often the most interesting part of the paper. Sometimes, out of paranoia (this is the Times remember), I'd worry that one, or more, errant key stokes would result in it making the paper. You do know that at 1 a.m., no one's paying attention to anything, especially the news desk. MattGaymon at 10:58 PM on 08/27/08

@realnicegirl: Some drunk people are paying attention to Gawker. Hi Ryan! Monkeyrash at 11:11 PM on 08/27/08

So, when he dies does my macbook stop working? And will that result in an additional 3 month extension to my mobileme account? cdmunch at 11:13 PM on 08/27/08

Steve Jobs is dead? HOLY CRAP! Drunken Economist at 11:19 PM on 08/27/08

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@Monkeyrash: Damn, you beat to to the punch. Well done. suzyO at 11:21 PM on 08/27/08

`One of the few people like the Shakespeare's and Einstein's that get well known HUH? scooby doo ears. cassandra at 11:23 PM on 08/27/08

@cdmunch: Also, LOLcait is a guy. cassandra at 11:24 PM on 08/27/08

This is so fascinating I can't stop commenting. "Jobs, a Buddhist and vegetarian, kept his cancer a secret for nine months as he sought alternatives to surgery," Because Buddhists and vegetarians lie? Potassium Solution at 11:25 PM on 08/27/08

Are we talking about Noah Wyle's career or the real Jobs? Monkeyrash at 11:26 PM on 08/27/08

@Drunken Economist: I'm just hoping they find enough bugs in mobileme to get me through another year without paying. Motoko Kusanagi at 11:28 PM on 08/27/08

@Monkeyrash: When Steve Jobs dies, reality wins.

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Lysergic Asset at 11:32 PM on 08/27/08

@cassandra: No, because he was hoping that being a Buddhist and a vegetarian would cancel all his bad karma and cure his cancer before anyone knew it. @Potassium Solution: After 25 years as a regular on ER, I think he's getting some lucrative pension checks as well as residuals. WhyAreYouWearingStripes at 11:40 PM on 08/27/08

One of my favorite things to do during my internship at a cable news network was go through the obits. I still remember being shocked and confused when I saw Ted Kennedy's obit. PerhapsNot at 11:49 PM on 08/27/08

Jeeeebus. I promise somebody at Bloomberg gets fired over this... Colonel Mustard at 12:01 AM

@cassandra: He died of VOODOO. fileunder at 12:41 AM

Steve Jobs' Final Cut bikini_lounger at 12:50 AM

It's like that dream, where you die and get to scope out everyone that attends your funeral. rollups at 01:29 AM

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Steve Jobs, who helped make personal computers as easy to use as telephones, Wrong! changed the way animated films are made, Okay maybe persuaded consumers to tune into digital music Napster did that way first. How about "go mobile with digital music" and refashioned the mobile phone, How about "revolutionized," since it is still a dammed phone. GregSamsa at 01:31 AM

Thanks for the depressing picture, btw. That purple yonder does not bode well. GregSamsa at 01:32 AM

@rollups: You're either using a PC, or can't afford an iPhone. bikini_lounger at 02:08 AM

@rollups: Revolutionize?! You give Apple a lot of credit. I mean, what would Palm and BlackBerry say? cdmunch at 02:22 AM

@cassandra: I'm always a little gender confused

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on this site. rollups at 02:33 AM

@bikini_lounger:What's a Palm? Anyway I think the app store is brilliant and yes a revolutionary idea. The only thing saving Blackberry is the real keyboard. DorothyMantooth at 02:52 AM

Man, I really hope they're planning on copy-editing that before it finally (sob!) needs to be published. bikini_lounger at 03:16 AM

@rollups: Palm, Inc., the maker of Treo and Centro. I was subtly pointing out why the reporter might use refashion over revolutionize. Anyway, I shouldn't talk. I have a crappy LG with a fake ipod dial that serves no purpose but to try and look cool. Though, if I ever do get PDA I will definitely go for function before fashion (not that I got my LG to be fashionable, it was just cheap ; ) ). Aaron Altman at 07:52 AM

"Story Referencing Apple Was Sent in Error by Bloomberg News" Also, story implying that STEVE JOBS WAS DEAD was sent in error by Bloomberg News.

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Ryan Tate at 07:59 AM

@Aaron Altman: Ha ha, also I like "never meant for publication." Emphasis on "never." Jobs is immortal and Bloomberg reporters write obituaries for fun! TheologicalSong at 08:08 AM

@Ryan Tate: morning, Ryan. this initially rather provocative post seems to have been toned down somewhat. why? I'm beginning to form some "ominous theories"! TheologicalSong at 08:11 AM

@TheologicalSong: @Ryan Tate: I suppose the retraction must have had something to do with that?! Aaron Altman at 08:19 AM

@Ryan Tate: Heh. Technically they could have referenced any word referenced in that obit. "Story Referencing Pixar's Toy Story Was Sent in Error by Bloomberg News" Aaron Altman at 08:22 AM

@TheologicalSong: Really? It seems the only "toned down" thing in this article is Bloomberg's irony-free retraction. :-) Ryan Tate at 09:43 AM

@TheologicalSong: It took too long to get to the

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point (four sentences to the lede) so I rearranged of my own accord, but I don't think any of the bite is actually gone. Everything's just in a different order and various transitional sections added/cut. Ben Popken at 09:46 AM

For Jobs reading that it's like he's in Huck Finn, he gets to watch his own funeral from the rafters. MittensTheKitten at 10:11 AM

I'm so in love with the fact the one day, Americans will open their newspapers to the obit page and realise that half the gadgets they own were created by an illegitimate half-Syrian vegetarian Buddhist. (Can he also be gay? That would be awesome.) "Story Referencing YOUR PHONE COMES FROM TEH SWORN ENEMIES OF FREEDOM AND CHRISTIAN VALUES Was Sent in Error by Bloomberg News" TheologicalSong at 10:21 AM

@Aaron Altman: touche! @Ryan Tate: well explained. fair enough, and duly noted. aren't you on West Coast time? you still up? digitalgravy at 10:54 AM

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Steve Jobs's birthday: Feb. 24, 1955 BIO UPDATED AS OF 2008, by Connie Guglielmo Are we thinking then that Miss Guglielmo no longer has a job at Bloomberg?? And is Steve Wozniak having to change his number now!? weave at 11:11 AM

- Heidi Roizen: venture capitalist who once dated Jobs: -redacted- or -redacted-. Heidi knows a lot of Silicon Pretty low class to put in a claim that Heidi has fake tits. MittensTheKitten at 11:23 AM

@weave: iJugs? harshmellow at 01:49 PM

"FakeSteveJobsDeath" to appear in 3...2...1... meechybee at 02:53 PM

Here's a picture of his tombstone:

- REDACTED kapitan at 03:33 PM

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The best part is that now, after all that research and work, they pretty much have to write a new obit since everyone's already seen this one. XerxesQados at 04:25 PM

"She turned my pancreas into a newt!" "A NEWT?" "I got better..." StupidDufus at 04:52 PM

@digitalgravy: Not necessarily. It could've been someone else with access to the CMS that put the story out in the public eye. MisterHippity at 05:00 PM

Holy cow! Over 155,000 page views! Nice going, Ryan! You must be RICH! Now you can retire! FracturedAcetabulum at 05:05 PM

@MisterHippity: Seriously. That's what I was just going to say. Sheesh. Someone at Cupertino must've picked this story up as well. Aaron Altman at 05:09 PM

@FracturedAcetabulum: Drudge picked th story up. Hello, Drudge readers! FYI, we're all regulars here, and we know, we know, Steve isn't dead.

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modelbehavior at 05:09 PM

heheh - him making "white ear buds fashionable" is clearly the most important part of this story Aaron Altman at 05:12 PM

@meechybee: BTW? Fahkin' high-larious. curlyqtips at 05:18 PM

Um, Ryan, can you spare a C-note? raincoaster at 05:45 PM

Eep. Few errors in there; at least this way they get a chance to fix it! raincoaster at 05:50 PM

Not to worry; if you hold him underground for three days he restarts.

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