Ripe: Today Apple officially became the world’s most valuable company ever. Its surging stock propelled the company’s value to $623 billion this afternoon, beating the record for market capitalization set by Microsoft in the heady days of the Internet boom. Apple has been the world’s most valuable company since the end of last year. It’s now worth 53% more than No. 2 Exxon Mobil Corp. Microsoft’s 1999 peak value was $620.58 billion, according to Standard & Poor’s. Read the full story here.
In the club: For the first time in its 80-year history, Augusta National Golf Club has female members. The home of the Masters, under increasing criticism the last decade because of its all-male membership, invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first women in green jackets when the club opens for a new season in October. Both women accepted. Read the full story here.
Sidelined: New Orleans Saints starting linebackers Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne are injured, and it’s not certain whether either will be back for the Saints’ regular-season opener against Washington on Sept. 9. Assistant head coach Joe Vitt says Lofton has a high ankle sprain. Hawthorne has a torn meniscus and was scheduled for surgery today. Vitt says that while Lofton is out, Ramon Humber will take over at middle linebacker. However, Humber is suspended the first three regular-season games for testing positive for a banned substance.
