COMPANIES

Apple (AAPL) stock continues to pound the competition, closing at $552.00 on Monday, an all-time record for the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company. Monday's high now puts Apple's market cap over $514 billion, which now exceeds Exxon's market cap -- currently standing at $403 billion -- by more than $100 billion.

Silver Standard Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSRI) reported Monday the company had earned $2.6 million, or 3 cents per share, for the quarter ended December 31, a drastic drop of 99.3 percent when compared to the same period in the prior year, but better than analyst expectations which had assumed the company would post a loss for the quarter.

Top-tier technology companies including Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) and Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT), among others, all buy back shares. Qualcomm and Applied Materials have just refreshed their buyback programs and hiked their dividends, too.

The Khan Academy, which aspires to change the education industry by providing free world-class education to anyone anywhere, officially launched its iPad app on Monday in an effort to distribute the not-for-profit organization's 2,700-plus educational videos.

After fewer than 200 miles of driving, Consumer Reports' brand-spankin-new, $107,850 Fisker Karma broke down during a routine speedometer calibration and had to be towed.

Shares of IBM set a new high of $201.57 after new CEO Virginia Rometty said the No. 2 computer services company was “uniquely positioned” to deliver benefits of “a gusher of data” flowing into the global economy.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) hired a chief financial officer with extensive experience in cable broadcasting, particularly with that industry's spin-offs as well as mergers and acquisitions, the New York-based company said Monday.

Apple doesn't openly tell the media what the company is building, but in an e-mail exchange with a fan, CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple will soon offer Italian language support for Siri, the company's AI personal assistant exclusive to the iPhone 4S.

The iOS 5.1 update has finally arrived. However, it is to be remembered that the list of new features are not extensive and largely consists of bug fixes and interface tweaks. Nonetheless, there are some important additions to it as well.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation of struck throttle issues possibly affecting as many as 360,000 2005 and 2006 Ford Taurus cars.

Veteran talk show host Larry King, 78, will get a new gig on the new Ora Internet TV site financed by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu.

In a recent data report, it has been declared that Korean Giant Samsung's market share is the triple of what Apple has in China and the analyst are claiming that it is still increasing.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc will hold its annual board meeting in India later this month.

Asahi Kasei Corp., a Japanese chemical manufacturer, agreed to acquire Massachusetts-based medical device and software maker Zoll Medical Corp. for about $2.21 billion, as it looks to expand its global presence and develop a leading position in the critical care.

If reports pan out, a buyout by the Time Warner unit could be highly profitable for Mashable founder Peter Cashmore.

Radio host, actor and filmmaker Alex Jones, uploaded a video on YouTube, and published it in his Web site infowars.com. The video, which claims that the documentary- Kony 2012, is a complete fraud and that it is Angelina Jolie who needs to be arrested for war crimes, has already had more than 127,410 viewers in just a day.

Apple claimed that iOS 5.1 contains a number of improvements and bug fixes that include the one affecting battery life on devices running iOS 5. Users, who have already updated to iOS 5.1, claim that they have been experiencing significant improvement in battery life after installing the firmware update.

The hiring of Wal-Mart's Brian Cornell to run the Americas food unit and promotion of longtime executive John Compton to the new post of president might be seen as attempts to find a successor to Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi, who has been mentioned in media reports as a potential candidate for World Bank president.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have invented a new method to make computer chips which could eventually replace the usage of silicone in the manufacturing process of phones and other devices.

Investors ploughed more money into hedge funds over the past month, data from hedge fund administrator GlobeOp shows, as hopes of a resolution to the euro zone debt crisis and a rebound in markets boosted confidence after last year's losses.

Konami have announced that it will be releasing its Metal Gear Solid HD Collection on the PlayStation Vita sometime this summer.

This year's first edition of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) was held in San Francisco, California, from March 5 to 9.

The Casa Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena was opened Saturday to honor the life and work of Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the Italian sports car manufacturer.

As in the case of all gadgets, the next generation iPad has also some plus and minus points and it is advisable that the potential buyers should be aware of them before setting out to buy one. It is also advisable that they should be familiar with the tablet's rivals in the market.

Following the release of the New iPad, Apple dropped the iPad 2 price by $100 in the U.S. And getting cue from Apple, many national retailers have also cut the prices of the device. Here're the places you should visit to grab the Apple iPad 2 at lesser price compared to its original $499 price tag.

The superior display and much improved processing power are among the major features that will certainly help the New iPad stay ahead of its arch rivals in the tablet market for quite some time. However, that doesn't mean that Apple won't be threatened for the crown. When it comes to raw processing power, Asus TF700T Transformer Prime, does stand out in the crowd.

The privately held Sientra Inc. on Friday joined the publicly traded Allergan Inc. and Johnson & Johnson (Mentor Worldwide LLC) as the only three companies to have won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals to market controversial silicone gel-filled breast implants.

General Electric Co. chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt received a total compensation of $21.58 million for 2011. This includes salary, bonus, deferred stock and pension value increase.

GTA Motor returned triumphantly to the Geneva Motor Show 2012, where it launched what it’s calling the “definitive version” of its high performance GTA Spano supercar, which could be a significant competitor with established top-tier supercars.