Apple is near $1 trillion in value
Holding your breath for Apple to break $1 trillion? There’s a new magic number to fixate on. And it’s less than 3 percent away.
As of Wednesday, the price that would crown the iPhone maker the first U.S. company to surpass the milestone is $207.0425 a share. Anything above that — most likely, a trade at $207.05 — and the wait is over.
Apple closed at $201.50 Wednesday, a record, after an earnings-inspired jump. So the Cupertino, Calif.-based company would need to gain 2.75 percent to get over the 13-digit hump. It’s a single-day boost the company has pulled off 13 times this year.
As Apple’s value has risen, its share in global smartphone shipments has slipped. Huawei Technologies Co. has pulled ahead of Apple to claim the No. 2 position in the second quarter, just behind Samsung Electronics Co., solidifying the rise of Chinese competitors.
Huawei shipped 54.2 million phones in the quarter, 41 percent more than a year earlier, to jump ahead of the iPhone maker for the first time, according to market research firm IDC. The telecoms giant accounted for 16 percent of the market, compared with 21 percent for South Korea’s Samsung and 12 percent for Apple. Xiaomi Corp. and Oppo, both based in China, rounded out the top five.
Area a big gainer in construction jobs
The Houston area added the most construction jobs in the nation during the past year, gaining 19,300 jobs through June, the Associated General Contractors of America said.
Construction employment rose in 76 percent of the 358 metro areas tracked by the organization.
Midland added 6,700 jobs, a 24 percent rise for the year, and was among 64 metro areas that set new construction employment highs, the AGC said. Only Merced, Calif., posted a higher percentage gain, adding 700 jobs, or 28 percent.
Houston's 9 percent gain in construction jobs matched the Dallas region, which added 12,200 jobs. Phoenix had an 11 percent gain, adding 13,100 jobs.
Molson Coors plans marijuana drink
DENVER — Molson Coors will attempt to sell pot-infused drinks in Canada, where consumable marijuana will become legal next year.
Molson Coors Brewing Co. is based in Colorado, which along with Washington, were the first states to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Recreational marijuana becomes legal in Canada in October, but consumable forms of the drug will be legal there in 2019.
The brewer said its Canadian division will partner with the Canadian cannabis producer The Hydropothecary Corp. to develop a non-alcoholic drink containing marijuana.
End to screening at small airports?
WASHINGTON — The TSA is considering ending screening of passengers at smaller airports across the country to focus security efforts at the largest airports.
It is unclear how advanced the proposal is and whether it will ever be adopted. Still, aviation-security experts reacted with alarm, saying it could make flights at smaller airports inviting targets for terrorists.
CNN said the Transportation Security Administration is considering whether to end passenger screening at airports that serve planes with 60 seats or fewer. The report cited senior agency officials and internal documents.
In a statement, the TSA said no decision has been made.
Starbucks to offer deliveries in China
Starbucks Corp. is joining forces with Alibaba Group Holding to begin delivering its drinks and baked goods in China, rolling out an effort to stave off competitors and turn around sales in the country.
Starbucks will test the service at 150 stores in Beijing and Shanghai in September using Alibaba’s Ele.me on-demand food delivery service.
Starbucks plans to expand the program to more than 2,000 locations by the end of the year, according to a statement.
The company will also create so-called “delivery kitchens” inside of Alibaba’s Hema supermarkets to make the service available to more customers.
Self-driving cars to return to Phoenix
PHOENIX — Five months after Uber pulled its self-driving cars out of Arizona following a fatal accident, Google spinoff Waymo is putting the technology back on Phoenix streets in partnership with the city's transit system.
Valley Metro, the agency that oversees metro Phoenix's light rail and buses, had already been in talks about partnering with Waymo for several months before the accident last March that killed a pedestrian.
Waymo announced in a blog post Tuesday a pilot program that would allow riders to hail autonomous cars to the nearest Valley Metro transit stop.