Apple lifts Nasdaq in cautious market
News from Reuters:

Trader Steven Kaplan works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, January 23, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid

NEW YORK | Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:57am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open for equities on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.2 percent, the Dow Jones futures down 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.6 percent.

The U.S. Federal Reserve looks set to keep monetary policy on hold on Wednesday, even as it releases forecasts expected to show interest rates will be near zero for at least two more years.

Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) is offering $ 5.7 billion in cash to buy U.S. gene sequencing company Illumina Inc (ILMN.O) in a hostile takeover bid that marks a major play by the Swiss drugmaker into the gene technology field.

Apple Inc’s (

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Apple’s Record Revenue: By The Numbers
News from InformationWeek:

By Thomas Claburn   InformationWeek
January 25, 2012 08:22 AM

Apple had a record-breaking fiscal 2012 first quarter, the period spanning the last 14 weeks of 2011.

The company on Tuesday reported record quarterly revenue of $ 46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $ 13.06 billion, which translates to $ 13.87 per diluted share.

Apple’s stock was up about 8% in after-hours trading about two hours after the market closed, which put its share price at $ 454. At that value, Apple’s market capitalization stands at $ 423 billion, more than previous market cap leader Exxon Mobil, worth $ 418 billion.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a statement he was thrilled, and promised more exciting products are coming. CFO Peter Oppenheimer also said he was thrilled in a conference call for investors.

Cook attributed Apple’s success to “the breathtaking customer reception” of the company’s products. Here are a few of the relevant numbers:

46.33 billion<…………… continues on InformationWeek

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