Apple becomes most valuable company in history

 SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Apple on Monday became the most valuable company in history after a surge in its stock price, beating the record set by Microsoft in December 1999.

Apple's stock price topped 660 U.S. dollars per share, pushing the company's market capitalization up to 619 billion dollars. The record was previously¹ kept by Microsoft, whose market value peaked on Dec. 30, 1999 with 618.89 billion dollars.

However, accounting² for inflation, Microsoft still retains the title by a margin³. According to technology news site MacRumors, Microsoft's 618.89-billion-dollar market capitalization in December 1999 would be equivalent to roughly 842.5 billion in today's dollars in inflation-adjusted terms. Microsoft is now worth 257 billion dollars.

Apple is expected to introduce iPhone 5 next month and a smaller and cheaper iPad, which has propelled the company's stock to new highs recently.

1 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

2 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。