U.S. technical firms dominate

U.S. technology companies dominate rankings of the world’s largest companies as never before. Lifted by a 10 per cent jump since the start of the year, Facebook Inc. just leapfrogged Exxon Mobil Corp. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to become fourth-most valuable company, with a market capitalization of US$330 billion. It joins Google’s parent Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. atop the rankings, the first time the top four are all American tech firms.