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Big Apple v Big Oil 苹果vs美孚 BY ANY standards it is a remarkable achievement.In the space of 14 years, Apple has transformed itself from a computer firm on the brink ofbankruptcy into a stockmarket superstar. On August 9th its market capitalisation surpassedthat of Exxon Mobil, making it the worlds largest public company. Not for long: by the end ofthe days trading, the tech giant was $1 billion smaller than the oil giant: $347 billion to $348billion. But Exxons lead is fragile. If the oil price falls further, Apple will surely outstrip it. 无论从哪个角度看，这都是引人注目的成就。在14年的时间里，苹果从一个面临倒闭的电脑公司成功转型，成为证券市场的超级明星。在8月9日其市值超过了埃克森美孚，成为世界上第一大上市公司。但不久在当日收盘时，科技巨头苹果的市值仅以10亿美元低于石油大亨：分别是3470亿美元和3480亿美元。但埃克森的领先不堪一击，如果油价继续下跌，苹果必然会超过。 Oil remains a vital raw material, and Exxon can extract it from difficult places more efficientlythan any other firm. But Apples rise reflects the growing influence of the digital industry, andthe way that industry has changed. It used to be dominated by companies such as IBM andMicrosoft, which made their billions selling software and services to corporations. Apple hasleap-frogged both of them by delighting consumers. | 
