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Jobs, who fought and survived a rare form of pancreatic cancer and revolutionized the technology arena with the iPhone and the iPad in the past four years, is deemed the heart and soul of a company that recently briefly became the most valuable in America.

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come," Jobs, who becomes chairman, said in a brief letter announcing his resignation.

The letter and a separate terse, somewhat cryptic statement from Apple raised more questions than it answered about Jobs' health and the future of the company.

While it's unlikely that his departure as CEO will derail Apple's ambitious product-launch roadmap in the near term, there are concerns about whether the company would be as creative beyond the next year or so without its founder and visionary at the helm.

That is why Apple's stock dropped as much as 7 percent in after-hours trading when Jobs' departure was announced.

In the company statement, Apple co-lead director Art Levinson on behalf of the board praised Jobs' "extraordinary vision and leadership" and "countless contributions to Apple's success", saying he would continue to serve the company with "unique insights, creativity and inspiration."

However, the statement, which also talked about Cook's outstanding performance, said nothing about Jobs' health.

His battle with pancreatic cancer, which has stretched over several years, has been of deep concern to Apple fans, investors and the company's board. Over the past two years, even board members have confided to friends their concern that Jobs, in his quest for privacy, wasn't being forthcoming with directors about the true condition of his health.

Jobs has been on medical leave since January 17, with his duties being filled by Cook, who was chief operating officer.

Some industry insiders privately expressed concern Jobs' relinquishing the CEO position was a clear signal he was too ill to keep up its punishing pace.

The 55-year-old Jobs had briefly emerged from his medical leave in March to unveil the latest version of the iPad and later to attend a dinner hosted by President Barack Obama for technology leaders in Silicon Valley. But his often-gaunt appearance had sparked questions about how bad his illness is and his ability to continue at Apple.

In each of Jobs' three health-related absences, Cook has taken over the helm. But the 50-year-old Alabama native, a former Compaq executive and an acknowledged master of supply-chain management, remains largely untested in Wall Street's view.

That's partly why, despite Cook being viewed as a safe bet to run Apple's sprawling empire, some still think his boss will be very badly missed.

One Silicon Valley CEO, who declined to be identified because of the sensitive issues involved, said the tone of Jobs' statement indicated his health might be worse than publicly known. The Apple chieftain has earned a reputation for commanding every aspect of operations -- from day-to-day running to broad strategic decisions -- suggesting he would not give up the job if he had a choice.

"It's really sad," the CEO told Reuters. "No one is looking at this as a business thing, but as a human thing. No one thinks that Steve is just stepping aside because he just doesn't want to be CEO of Apple anymore."

"It feels like another shoe is going to drop."

AGAIN, DEEP BENCH

While Jobs did not give details on the state of his health, oncologists who have not treated the Apple founder said he could be facing several problems tied to his rare form of pancreatic cancer and subsequent liver transplant. They include possible hormone imbalances or a recurrence of cancer that is harder to fight once the body has already been weakened

His resignation certainly marks the end of an era at Apple.

A college dropout, a Buddhist and a son of adoptive parents, he started Apple Computer with friend Steve Wozniak in the late 1970s.

The company soon introduced the Apple 1 computer. But it was the Apple II that became a huge success and gave Apple its position as a critical player in the then-nascent PC industry, culminating in a 1980 IPO that made Jobs a multimillionaire.

Despite the subsequent success of the Mac, Jobs' relationship with internal management soured, and in 1985 the board removed most of his powers and he left the company, selling all but one share of his Apple holdings.

Apple's fortunes waned after that. However, its purchase of NeXT -- the computer company Jobs founded after leaving Apple -- in 1997 brought him back into the fold. Later that year, he became interim CEO and in 2000, the company dropped "interim" from his title.

"Steve Jobs is the most successful CEO in the U.S. of the last 25 years," Google Inc Chairman Eric Schmidt said in a statement. "He uniquely combined an artists touch and an engineer's vision to build an extraordinary company.. one of the greatest American leaders in history."

Some Apple fans took to social media to express their reaction in crudely poetic, though somewhat poignant, terms. One Apple fan from Denmark posted on Facebook: "Good Job. I just ate an Apple. It was bittersweet. Guess I'll just have to Cook it from now on."

Analysts again expressed confidence in the Apple bench, headed by supply-chain maven Cook.

"I will say to investors: don't panic and remain calm, it's the right thing to do. Steve will be chairman and Cook is CEO," said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis.

On Wednesday, Apple shares slid to $357.40 in extended trading after a brief halt. They had gained 0.7 percent to close at $376.18 on the Nasdaq.

"Investors are very comfortable with Tim Cook even though Jobs has been a driver of innovation and clearly an Apple success. Tim has shown Apple can still outperform extremely well when he's been acting as CEO," said Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross.

Apple previously did not have a chairman, but had two independent co-lead directors. In his letter, which was addressed to the Apple board and the Apple community, Jobs said: "I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee."

They did see fit.

(Additional reporting by Bill Rigby, Alexei Oreskovic, Sarah McBride and Jim Christie in San Francisco, Lisa Richwine and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles, and Peter Lauria and Tiffany Wu in New York)

(Editing by Gary Hill, Martin Howell)

Apple and Samsung are fighting a series of legal battles over patents with U.S. market leader Apple and South Korea's Samsung slugging it out in courtrooms spanning the United States, Europe and Asia. At the center of the disputes are claims and counterclaims of patent infringements on smartphone and tablet designs and copyright issues.

Samsung scored what it claims is a partial victory in the Netherlands on Wednesday after a court ruled its smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace had broken just one of three patents at issue. The court said it found no infringement for Samsung's tablets.

The resignation of Jobs, Apple's visionary founder and chief executive officer, could also benefit the Korean company in the sense that Apple could lose direction, analysts said.

"Jobs' resignation has a positive impact on market sentiment toward Samsung...Investors were concerned about whether Samsung will be able to continue to fare well in the smartphone market as Apple is growing market share," said Jeon Nam-joong, a fund manager at Consus Asset Management.

"But Job's resignation will offer opportunities to Samsung for a longer term, although it will not have an immediate impact."

By 0310 GMT, shares in Samsung, the world's biggest technology firm by revenue, had risen 3.4 percent after rising as much as 4.2 percent earlier and beating a 1.9 percent rise in the wider market.

INTERCONTINENTAL PATENT WARS

Apple and Samsung have filed lawsuits against each other in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. One of Samsung's defenses in the United States centers on Stanley Kubrick's "2001: Space Odyssey." Samsung said in legal filings that Apple's iPad is modeled in part on electronic equipment depicted in the film, and therefore do not qualify as original designs.

The sales injunction on the three smartphone models in some European countries will not be effective until at least October 13 and the patent violation could be resolved by making technical changes to the smartphones, the court said. This would then allow sales to go forward.

Samsung is the nearest rival to Apple in smartphones and its shipments in the second quarter were just 1 million units short of Apple's 20.3 million unit sales, according to market data. But it is a distant second in the booming tablet market.

Apple and Samsung are vying for the world's top spot in the smartphone market after Nokia, the market leader for a decade, was ousted by Apple in the second quarter.

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Ju-min Park; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner, Ken Wills and Matt Driskill)

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders surged 4 percent after a revised 1.3 percent drop in June, which was previously reported as a 1.9 percent fall.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected orders to rise 2 percent last month. Orders were buoyed by a 14.6 percent jump in bookings for transportation equipment, which was the largest increase since January.

Excluding transportation, orders unexpectedly rose 0.7 percent after gaining 0.6 percent in June. Economists had expected this category to fall 0.5 percent.

But non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, fell 1.5 percent last month after a revised 0.6 percent rise in June.

Economists had expected a 1 percent fall from a previously reported 0.4 percent gain.

The decline in business spending plans, coming on the heels of weak readings on regional factory activity so far this month, could add to fears that the manufacturing sector is running out of steam.

However, this business spending plans category normally weakens in the first month of each quarter in part because of an incomplete seasonal adjustment of the power equipment subcomponent.

Manufacturing has supported the economy's recovery. However, a plunge in share prices has hit both business and consumer confidence. Regional Federal Reserve factory surveys so far for August have been sharply weaker.

Last month, durable goods orders were buoyed by a 43.4 percent surge in aircraft orders, which erased June's 24 percent slump. Boeing received 115 aircraft orders, up from 48 in June, according to information posted on the plane maker's website.

Motor vehicle orders jumped 11.5 percent, the largest increase since January 2003, after edging up 0.1 percent the previous month, indicating a fading of the supply chain disruptions from Japan.

Outside of transportation, details of the report were mixed, with orders for machinery and computers and electronic products falling. However, orders for primary metals, and capital goods rose.

Shipments of non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, which go into the calculation of gross domestic product, edged up 0.2 percent after rising 1.9 percent in June.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

The global miner also sought to appease investors with a big hike in its dividend.

BHP, the last of the major miners to report results, was confident on the outlook for commodity prices despite expecting weak growth in Europe and the United States.

"We expect robust demand in the short and medium term, supported by commodities intensive emerging economic growth," the company said.

However, it joined its peers in warning costs were rapidly rising.

"In the current environment, tight labor and raw material markets are presenting a challenge for all operators, and BHP Billiton is not immune from that trend," the company said.

It raised its dividend by 22 percent, which it said reflected its "confidence in the long term outlook for our core commodity markets," after completing a $10 billion share buyback earlier than planned.

Investors had been divided over whether to expect another buyback following BHP's recent $12.1 billion bid for U.S. shale gas producer Petrohawk Energy, its biggest successful deal since BHP took over Billiton Plc.

Soaring prices for iron ore, copper and oil boosted attributable profit before exceptional items to $10.98 billion for the six months to June from $6.77 billion a year ago, missing an average forecast of $11.7 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Earnings from iron ore, its biggest division, jumped 122 percent to $13.3 billion, while earnings for base metals soared 47 percent and petroleum earnings grew 38 percent.

It said inflation and the falling U.S. dollar cut underlying earnings by $3.2 billion.

BHP's shares have fallen 16 percent so far this year on worries about global growth, underperforming the broader market's .AXJO 14 percent drop. The miner's shares ended flat at A$38.21, shortly after the result was released, in line with the market.

(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Ed Davies)

Japanese assets showed a muted reaction to a downgrade of Tokyo's government debt by ratings agency Moody's, while the dollar fell slightly versus the yen after Japan unveiled a $100 billion credit line to help companies deal with the impact of a strong currency but shied away from intervening in the markets.

Gold climbed more than 1 percent, after tumbling from a record high on Tuesday as investors switched money back into shares, propelling U.S. stocks up around 3 percent.

Wall Street's rally, perversely, was driven by more dismal U.S. economic data, which raised expectations that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will use a speech on Friday at a central bankers' conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to signal a fresh monetary offensive to fend off a renewed recession.

Euro STOXX 50 futures rose 0.9 percent, Germany's DAX futures were up 0.9 percent and France's CAC futures up 0.6 percent, while financial bookmakers called London's FTSE 100 to open as much as 0.8 percent higher.

Last year, Bernanke used the Jackson Hole meet to prepare the ground for the Fed's second round of quantitative easing, a $600 billion bond-buying program designed to pump cash and confidence into financial markets that became known as "QE2."

"The market is becoming more pessimistic about the economic outlook and is responding by pricing in a greater chance of QE3," said Bricklin Dwyer, economist at BNP Paribas, in a client note.

But while Bernanke is expected to acknowledge his disappointment over the pace of growth in the economy, many Fed watchers say the chances of a major new bond buying operation being announced at Jackson Hole are limited.

"I think we'll see (QE3) because America needs growth, but I don't think we'll necessarily get it on Friday," said Neil Dwane, chief investment officer for Europe at RCM.

RECESSION FEARS

Asian shares opened higher but swiftly retreated into negative territory, with Japan's Nikkei share average falling 1.1 percent, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.8 percent.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.9 percent, suggesting Wall Street's rebound may be coming to a halt for now.

World stocks have tumbled this month on fears the United States is slipping back into recession and as Europe's sovereign debt crisis worsens.

The MSCI index remains down 14 percent for the month so far, and about 18 percent below is April high.

Moody's announced shortly before Asian markets opened that it was cutting Japan's credit rating by one notch to Aa3, mirroring an earlier downgrade by rival S&P, blaming large budget deficits and a buildup of debt since the global recession of 2009.

"It's been a while since Japan lost its triple-A status, so it is unlikely that Japan's interest rates will rise sharply," said Fumiyuki Takahashi, managing director at Barclays Capital.

The dollar quickly came off an intraday high of 76.88 yen, and was trading slightly down on the day around 76.60 after Japan's statement on the yen.

Tokyo's new credit line will facilitate firms' acquisitions overseas and their procurement of energy and resources from abroad, but analysts were skeptical the measures would calm markets after the yen hit a record high of 75.941 last week.

"The scheme treats the symptoms not the underlying cause," said Todd Elmer, currency strategist at Citi in Singapore.

Japanese government bond September 10-year futures fell initially after the Moody's announcement, but reversed course as equities slipped to trade up 0.18 point at 142.73, and the benchmark 10-year yield dipped 0.5 basis point to 1.005 percent.

Japanese government bonds are insulated by the fact that the vast majority of Tokyo's debt pile is domestically held.

"JGBs have tended not to show any lasting reaction to ratings downgrades in the past -- probably because in Japan the problem if anything is one of over-saving, which banks recycle into JGBs, which remain 'risk free assets'," said Naomi Fink, head of Japan strategy at Jeffries Japan.

Gold was up about 1 percent just below $1,850 an ounce, after suffering its biggest one-day fall in 18 months on Tuesday. Gold's safe-haven appeal has driven it to a series of records in recent months.

U.S. crude oil, which has tended to follow equities in recent months, fell 0.2 percent to $85.30 a barrel.

(Additional reporting by Ian Chua in Sydney; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Ramya Venugopal)