Apple Now Worth More Than Microsoft, Google Combined

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How high can Apple soar? The tech juggernaut is closing in on $500 per share, a dramatic psychological threshold that underscores the company’s stunning performance over the last decade. How massive has Apple become? It’s now worth more by market capitalization than Google and Microsoft combined. The company’s latest stock price surge is being fueled by rumors that a new version of the iPad — the iPad 3 — will appear next month.

Feds investigate Door Fires in 2007 Camrys, RAV-4s

DETROIT (AP) — Federal safety regulators are investigating reports of fires in the driver’s side doors of 2007 Toyota Camry sedans and RAV-4 crossover SUVs.

The probe could affect as many as 830,000 vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday in documents posted on its website. The vehicles have not been recalled.

FBI File on Steve Jobs Probed Apple Founder’s Drug Use, Character

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The FBI’s 191-page file on the late Steve Jobs — released Thursday — reveals that the feds were keenly interested in the Apple founder’s character, as well as his past drug use and criminal history. The FBI opened an investigation of Jobs in 1991, because he was under consideration for a presidential appointment to the President’s Export Council under George H. W. Bush.

JC Penney and Ellen, Lowe’s and All-American Muslim: A Tale of Two Bigotries

JC Penney did the right thing this week, standing by its celebrity spokeswoman Ellen DeGeneres despite a conservative activist group’s demand that it drop association with her because she’s gay. The group, One Million Moms, asked Penney to “remain neutral in the culture war” by firing a gay celebrity. (“Neutrality” must mean not employing heterosexual spokespeople, either, right? Any asexual celebrities the store could hire? R2-D2, perhaps?) Penney repudiated the group, and De Generes also got backup from Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who likened the campaign to McCarthyism.

TIME’s Interview With Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti

This week’s edition of TIME International features an interview with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (subscribers can read the story here). In the mean time, check out our video interview with Italy’s new leader.

White House Announces $25 Billion Mortgage Settlement

This post was updated at 1:25pm

It’s been a long slog, but government officials and representatives from major U.S. banks have come to terms on a settlement that would put an end to federal and state investigations into alleged foreclosure abuses by financial institutions.

Ford CFO Booth to Retire, CEO Mulally Staying Put

AP  / SCANPIX, Bjorn Larsson Rosvall, File

(DETROIT ) — Two top Ford executives who helped lead the company’s comeback from financial disaster are retiring, but CEO Alan Mulally says he has no plans to leave.

Lewis Booth, the company’s chief financial officer, and Derrick Kuzak, its global product development chief, will both retire on April 1. Both were once were among the front-runners to replace the 66-year-old Mulally, who was hired away from aviation giant Boeing Co. in 2006 to rescue Ford.

Curious Capitalist

Three Economic Lessons Imported From Turkey

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I just returned from a week in Istanbul, where I was reporting a piece on what Turkey’s burgeoning contemporary art scene tells us about where the country is headed politically (you can look for that in our upcoming style and design special in the magazine later this month). But I also learned a few economic lessons that have particular relevance to the U.S. and global economy right now.

Groupon Shares Tumble 15% After Fourth Quarter Loss

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Online discount service Groupon continues to grow at a rapid clip, but the company is still losing money, posting a $42.7 million loss for the fourth quarter of 2011. Groupon shares fell over 15% in after-hours trading Wednesday to $20.82, just slightly higher than the level at which the company went public in November.

The “App Economy” Estimated to Contribute Nearly Half a Million Jobs to the U.S.

DON EMMERT / AFP / Getty Images

Hard to believe, but it’s been less than five years since the launch of the iPhone. Prior to its explosion in popularity, an ‘application’ was a tool for finding a job, but ask anybody what an application is today, and the first things she thinks of are those helpful little programs we store on our phones and tablets. And according to a new study by Dr. Michael Mandel of South Mountain Economics, this new kind of application is creating a whole bunch jobs for Americans — 446,000 to be exact.