In a world still powered by oil, it is no surprise that Exxon is the largest publicly traded company in the world, valued at $368 billion. In a world that is going increasingly digital, it should come as no surprise that a high tech company is creeping up there, to knock Exxon from its pedestal. While SanJose.com Facebook is now valued at $50 million, that’s chump change for the petroleum gazilionnaires. Microsoft used to be way up on top, but it lost this leg of the race in May to its inspiration, Apple.

The New Year holiday was good for Apple. Its shares were up 2 percent to $330.20 from what they were when they closed last week. What that means is that Apple is now valued at over $300 billion, making it the second largest publicly traded company in the world.

That still leaves it with a Facebook-sized company to go before it catches up to the petro-giant. But with the International CES consumer electronics fair just two days away and several new products rumored to be on the horizon, Apple is steadily inching upward.
Read More at the Business Journal.