Apple has become the first company affected Market value $3tnIn less than 16 months, the value of large technology companies has risen by US$1 trillion due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The iPhone maker became a US$1 trillion company in August 2018 and became the first company to reach a US$2 trillion valuation two years later. On Monday, the company’s stock price rose 3% to US$182.86, surpassing the latest milestone, before falling back to US$182. Apple briefly lost the title of Microsoft’s world’s most valuable company at the end of October.

However, the strong rebound in November regained the crown. Then it soared to the end of 2021, and its market value increased by $500 billion since November 15.

Only a few companies are worth more than $1 trillion, including Tesla and Amazon. Google’s parent company Alphabet and the oil group Saudi Aramco are valued at approximately US$2 trillion, while Microsoft’s market value is approximately US$2.5 trillion.

Thank you for reading FirstFT Asia.Tell us what you think of today’s newsletter [email protected]. — Emily

There are five more stories in the news

1. Freedom of the press in Hong Kong is facing collapse Freedom of the press in Hong Kong is about to extinct The two largest independent news sites remaining on Chinese territory announced that they would be shut down within a week.Citizen News said it will cease operations today, citing the safety of its reporters

2. The jury is deadlocked on three counts in the Elizabeth Holmes trial The jurors said they were Deadlock on 3 out of 11 items In the trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, one of the most high-profile criminal fraud cases in Silicon Valley continued for the eighth day. According to the US News Agency, Judge Edward Davila instructed the jurors to continue their deliberations and try to reach a verdict.

3. Bridgewater appoints co-CEO Bridgewater has Two co-CEOs appointed Instead of David McCormick, he will leave the world’s largest hedge fund and prepare to run for the US Senate. The company said it is promoting former Deputy CEO Nir Bar Dea and Bridgewater Operations Co-Chairman Mark Bertolini to the top positions.

4. Turkey’s inflation soars to the highest level under Erdogan’s leadership As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s controversial economic management continues Trigger price spikesAccording to data released by the Turkish Statistics Agency yesterday, the country’s consumer price index rose 36% year-on-year in December. This increase marked the highest increase in consumer prices since September 2002.

5. Trading of Evergrande stocks is suspended The trading of Evergrande Group’s stock is Suspended in Hong Kong Yesterday, Chinese media reported that debt-laden real estate developers will be forced to demolish a residential development in the southern Hainan Province.

Coronavirus Digest

• Who is Business winners and losers From the pandemic? Find out here.

• Surge of Covid-19 infections and winter storms stalled America’s Resumed work yesterday, Stranded airline passengers After the Christmas and New Year holidays, many offices, trading floors, schools and universities were empty.

• Boris Johnson Already admitted NHS is under tremendous pressure Due to a variant of Omicron, but that England will stick to the existing Covid-19 restrictions for now.

• This UK will Lagging behind other developed countries According to the survey of economists surveyed by the Financial Times, its economy will recover from the pandemic in 2022.

the day before

Purchasing Managers Index December Purchasing Managers Index IHS Markit It will be screened in Japan, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam and China. The Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management will also release its December report.

What are we still reading

Putin tried to control the past to follow Xi’s model The closing of the memorial feels like A turning point in Russia as a whole, Wrote Gideon Rachman. Despite the brutality of the Putin regime, until recently, Russia has provided political dissidents with greater freedom than China.

M&A boom accelerates primary burnout of elite law firms For a long time, colleagues at the world’s top law firms have regarded exhausted time as part of the Faust contract, in which nights, weekends and sleep can be exchanged for jaw-dropping salaries.But junior lawyers have Reached a critical point With the surge in workload and the pandemic, anxiety and isolation have risen.

Can define ten economic trends in 2022 The pandemic has reshaped the world for the second year in a row, accelerating the trend from population decline to digital revolution. Ruchir Sharma inspection How will these trends define this year, from China’s economic slowdown to “green inflation” in commodity prices.

Use artificial intelligence to predict medical conditions Last month, a doctor and machine learning scientist at the University of California at Berkeley unveiled a treasure trove of unique medical data sets, each of which revolves around a Medical mysteryThese data sets can help train computer algorithms to predict medical conditions earlier, classify them better, and save lives.

We should expect fluctuations in global inflation dynamics What if the only constant in the next few years is volatility? What if the seemingly entrenched inflation dynamics start to fluctuate? Rana Foroohar thinks this will be the case because The following reasons.

books

The United States, the world’s largest market, publishes approximately 10,000 business books every year. Of course, almost everything is indisputable, but inevitably, only a few obsolete things will pass the publisher’s strict filters. Don’t miss Andrew Hill’s (completely fictitious) example Titles to avoid in 2022.