THE NEWS WRAP: Apple hits record market cap with $US700 billion valuation

Apple shares reached another major financial milestone overnight, crossing the $US700 billion ($820 million) market capitalization threshold shortly after Wall Street trading began, AppleInsider reports.

With shares in the company trading at an all-time high, Apple is more valuable than it has ever been in the eyes of investors. Apple’s previous record market cap was $658 billion, which it reached in September 2012. Apple shares peaked at just under $120 per share, with a market cap of around $702 billion.

To put that in perspective, rival Microsoft has a market cap of $394 billion, while Google is valued at $367 billion.

Sony to cut TV, smartphone line-up

Loss-making Sony plans to slash its TV and mobile phone product range to cut costs, counting on multi-billion dollar revenue surges for its PlayStation 4 and image sensor businesses over the next three years, Reuters reports.

Sony said its goal for TV and smartphones is to turn a profit, even as sales slide as much as 30%.

Twitter introduces Offers

Social media giant Twitter has already started making its way into e-commerce and now it’s turning its attention to bricks-and-mortar retail, Re/code reports.

The company has introduced Twitter Offers, discounts that users can claim right from an advertiser’s tweet by linking their credit or debit card account with Twitter. The Twitter user can then redeem the discount simply by paying with the synced card in the retailer’s physical store or online shop.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 2.96 to 17,814.94. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US85 cents.

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