....from various sources including: http://itn.co.uk/8d2e878b316ccbc97e1eb8f1866db2cf.html

(btw: "market value" - from The Economist magazine - can be described as follows: http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/224 Participants in the debate have understandably questioned the meaning of market value. The definition is critically important because the price charged for water goes well beyond mechanical computations based on cost to encompass broader social goals and objectives....

What is the market value of water? Let us start with what it is not. It is not simply a willingness to pay. It is not an arbitrary metric derived by capitalists to profit from scarcity. The market value of water should be a reflection of all the factors that make water a prerequisite for life and for living. [The meaning] can encompass ecological stewardship, biodiversity and sustainability in use. It also encompasses all of the costs associated with achieving those results: regulations, marginal supply costs and advanced treatment technologies.)

Apple surpasses Microsoft on the stock marketFri May 28 2010 13:29:36Apple has surpassed its rival Microsoft to become the world's biggest tech company based on market value.

The last time Apple had a higher market value than Microsoft was 1989.

Just ahead of the international launch of the iPad,shares boosted the value of Apple to $222bn while Microsoft is valued at $219bn.

The latest milestone marks an impressive resurgence for a company that faced an uncertain future as recently as the early 1990s.

In 1997 Microsoft's market value was more than five times that of Apple and it invested $150m into its struggling rival.

Apple, which models its products on stylish designs and easy to use formats, has turned its fortunes around and shares are now worth more than 10 times what they were worth ten years ago.

But Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has shrugged off being surpassed by his company's arch rival: "Where do we go, how do we make products that are more innovative, more popular, how do we make more profit and certainly there is no technology company in the planet that is as profitable as we are and I am certainly proud of that. How the stock market chooses to reflect all that is up to the stock market." He said.

Microsoft still leads Apple in sales in the latest quarter with Microsoft reporting $14.5bn in revenue compared with Apple's $13.5bn.