*By Kavitha Shastry*
Amazon briefly joined the $1 trillion club Tuesday, becoming the second U.S. company to reach the milestone market cap in as many months.
The e-commerce giant saw shares rise to $2,050.50 just before noon, putting its valuation just about $100 billion behind Apple, which crossed the line a little over a month ago.
That may sound like a huge sum separating the two, but Amazon could actually surpass the iPhone maker in short order ー the stock's 74 percent gain this year is more than double that of Apple, and if shares of both companies keep the same pace, Amazon could close the gap by the end of the year.
Still, plenty of catalysts could affect the horse race ー investors will be closely watching Apple's big iPhone reveal next Wednesday, and the all-important holiday shopping season will be key for Amazon. Then, of course, there's Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet, both of which are gaining ground, with market caps of about $850 billion each.
But while Amazon's and Apple's runs created plenty of fanfare, they're not the first companies to hit the $1 trillion level. China Petroleum did so on the Hong Kong exchange back in 2007, but those shares have since plummeted, giving the one-time oil giant a current market cap of around $121 billion.
The peak summer travel season is almost here, and pilots are stepping up their pressure on major airlines for new contracts that will include higher pay.
Sony Pictures Entertainment's faith-based streaming platform, Pure Flix, is merging with Great American Media, a newer cable company that has challenged the market currently dominated by Hallmark Channel.
The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing Thursday on the cannabis bill the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking — a first step toward what advocates hope will be a full vote on the Senate Floor.
Wall Street saw another day of losses in the market amid continued concerns over the banking sector and as investors digest the latest inflation data. Francis Oh, Asia-Pacific CEO of Qraft Technologies, joined Cheddar News to break down what can be expected with the Federal Reserve's move on interest rates and what to look out for with A.I. stocks, which are seeing big gains.
