And finally…Apple close to history as $1 trillion value looms

The iPhone maker is currently worth about $935 billion, and the stock only needs to go up about 7 per cent for it to top the mark.

Apple wowed investors when it reported earnings yesterday with sales and profits outstripping forecasts.

The company reported revenue of 53.3 billion dollars (£40.6bn), up 17 per cent from the same period last year and above analyst expectations of 52.4 billion (£39.9bn).

The results sent stock up more than 3 per cent in after hours trading.

If it opens that much higher Tuesday, it will have a market value of more than $960 billion, moving it closer to becoming the first US company to cross the trillion dollar mark.

That’s a one with twelve zeroes.

Apple has been using a nearly $245 billion stockpile of cash to boost its dividend and stock buyback program as a reward for investors, which now includes Warren Buffett.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought nearly 75 million shares of Apple in the first quarter, making it Berkshire’s top stock holding.

Apple isn’t the only tech giant closing in on a trillion dollar mark though.

Amazon is worth a little more than $870 billion. Google owner Alphabet has a market valuation of nearly $845 billion. And Microsoft’s market cap is now just under $815 billion.