Are corporate officers paid too much?

This report suggests that at least one CEO might not be paid enough.

You want to know how skittish Apple investors are and how little conviction they have in the company, or trust in its message, look no further than today's Gizmodo rumor fiasco.

The blog reports a serious decline in Steve Jobs' health as the real reason for his decision to pull out of the Macworld tradeshow keynote address, and the stock tanks. Apple shares [AAPL 86.29 -0.32 (-0.37%) ] had spent the day in the green before these headlines hit the tape, and then promptly turned red.

Never mind the Gizmodo report was flimsy at best. Never mind the blog seemed to distance itself from its own report. Traders and their hair triggers swiftly yelled "Sell!" — and rumor overshadowed reason once again.

I spoke to Apple after these headlines crossed and the company, which officially doesn't comment on rumors, reiterated the reasons it offered two weeks ago: Apple was pulling out of Macworld because the company didn't see the need to continue its investment in the expo, which included Steve Jobs' keynote. . . .

Could one imagine the drop if investors thought that the report might have a reasonable probability of being true?