THE NEWS WRAP: Icahn say Apple valuation half what it should be, launches campaign for stock buyback

Activist investor Carl Icahn has predicted that Apple shares will double to more than $US200 ($A228) as he begins his latest campaign to force the company into another stock buyback, The Guardian reports.

In a letter to Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Icahn implied that the company should have a stock market valuation of $US1.2 trillion ($A1.37 trillion). It has a current stock market valuation of just under $591 billion ($A673 billion), which makes it the world’s most valuable company.

Icahn says the market misunderstands Apple and it is dramatically undervalued.

Advertising coming to Snapchat

Snapchat is close to launching its first foray into advertising, as the company sets out to justify its $US10 billion ($A11.3 billion) valuation.

Earlier this week co-founder and chief executive officer Evan Spiegel said the company will debut its first ads “soon”. They will appear within the Snapchat Stories feature, in between the photos and videos shared by users, and will be not targeted to individual users.

The ads will the first source of revenue for the three-year-old startup.

Amazon to open its first physical store

E-commerce giant Amazon plans to open its first bricks-and-mortar store, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The store in Manhattan, New York, is set to open in time for the holiday-shopping season and would mark an experiment by Amazon to connect with customers in the physical world.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 334.97 to 16,659.25. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US88 cents.